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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.

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: face · squash · row · pound · shower · bat · degree · spell

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. row — a line
  3. face — to confront
  4. degree — from a university
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. spell — magic
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spell — a short time
  15. shower — to wash
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. squash — the sport
  19. face — part of the head
  20. shower — rain
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — a weight
  23. spell — letters
  24. squash — the vegetable

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