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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 116 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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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 · shower · sharp · bowl · rule · pound · straw · cap

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. degree — from a university
  3. shower — rain
  4. rule — government
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. degree — an amount
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cap — a hat
  17. shower — to wash
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. sharp — exactly

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