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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 116 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: shower · board · pop · capital · degree · mark · bass · trunk

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pop — music
  3. board — to get on
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mark — a grade
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. degree — from a university
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. board — a committee
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. capital — a city
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. shower — rain
  16. capital — money
  17. mark — a trace
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bass — the fish
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pop — soda
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bass — low music

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