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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: bore · clip · spring · degree · racket · shower · object · foot

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. object — a thing
  4. clip — for paper
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. spring — the season
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bore — to tire
  12. object — to protest
  13. degree — from a university
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. foot — a measure
  16. object — an aim
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. shower — rain
  20. degree — an amount
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. clip — a video
  23. spring — a coil
  24. clip — to cut

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