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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: spell · degree · ground · shower · net · swing · tube · ball

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. shower — a meteor shower
  2. swing — to play on
  3. shower — to wash
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. swing — music
  6. net — in sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ground — crushed
  10. shower — rain
  11. spell — letters
  12. swing — in golf
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. net — after costs
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tube — the underground
  18. ground — a position
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. net — for catching
  21. tube — a container
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ball — a dance
  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