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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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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: wound · bark · cap · bat · degree · shower · mate · dip

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bark — to shout
  4. dip — to sink
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cap — a hat
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mate — to breed
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. degree — an amount
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cap — of ice
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. shower — rain

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