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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: shower · cell · ball · club · pitcher · lash · degree · wake

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. ball — a dance
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. degree — from a university
  10. ball — a great time
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. degree — an amount
  22. club — a group
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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