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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pop · shower · racket · spell · degree · cold · suit · stick

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. spell — a short time
  3. degree — temperature
  4. suit — in cards
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pop — to visit
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. spell — letters
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. spell — magic
  16. suit — clothes
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. suit — to fit
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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