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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: hide · degree · bat · last · rush · cap · shower · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cap — a hat
  12. last — to go on
  13. rush — hurry
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. last — finally
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. last — final
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cap — a lid
  24. hide — to keep secret

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