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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 124 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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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: roll · sharp · fan · fall · degree · shower · calf · row

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. roll — a list
  4. shower — to wash
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. fall — the season
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. sharp — clever
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. shower — rain
  14. degree — temperature
  15. row — to paddle
  16. roll — a cake
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — an amount
  23. row — a line
  24. fall — to drop

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