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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · bore · cue · net · present · rest · rush · shower

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bore — to tire
  5. net — for catching
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bore — to drill
  10. present — a gift
  11. cue — for pool
  12. shower — to wash
  13. net — in sport
  14. cue — a hint
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. net — after costs
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rest — what's left
  23. shower — rain
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com