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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: game · bear · degree · trunk · shower · snap · hand · fan

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bear — the animal
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bear — the animal
  5. snap — to click
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. hand — help
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. degree — from a university
  11. shower — rain
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. shower — to wash
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. degree — an amount
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. fan — a supporter

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