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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · tube · spell · race · shower · lie · ball · wind

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. degree — an amount
  3. ball — a great time
  4. shower — rain
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — temperature
  8. shower — to wash
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tube — a container
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. spell — magic
  16. race — humankind
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spell — letters
  19. lie — to recline
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — a short time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. degree — from a university
  24. tube — the underground

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