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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: shower · bear · degree · pitch · fine · trunk · cap · board

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. shower — rain
  4. fine — all right
  5. board — a committee
  6. cap — of ice
  7. pitch — completely
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bear — the animal
  10. board — to get on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. shower — to wash
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cap — a hat

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