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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: shower · straw · cap · rest · row · bulb · bass · degree

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. shower — rain
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cap — of ice
  7. row — to paddle
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bass — the fish
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. row — a line
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. rest — a break
  22. bass — low music
  23. rest — what's left
  24. degree — an amount

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