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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.

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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: ground · deal · land · shower · bowl · degree · wound · track

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wound — an injury
  3. land — a country
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. track — a path
  11. land — ground
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. shower — rain
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. degree — an amount
  16. land — to come down
  17. track — a song
  18. deal — to handle
  19. ground — crushed
  20. shower — to wash
  21. degree — temperature
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. ground — a position
  24. track — to keep track

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