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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
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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: arm · fan · degree · drill · wave · bowl · shower · last

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. degree — from a university
  3. last — finally
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. last — final
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. drill — army training
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. last — to go on
  24. degree — temperature

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