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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 120 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: foot · fork · pass · degree · spring · deal · shower · wound

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. deal — a big deal
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. foot — a measure
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. spring — the season
  8. shower — rain
  9. degree — from a university
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. deal — to handle
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. spring — of water
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. pass — a permit
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. spring — a coil
  22. degree — an amount
  23. shower — to wash
  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