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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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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: pitcher · key · spring · degree · season · cap · shower · bear

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. key — the most important part
  10. bear — the animal
  11. key — in music
  12. cap — of ice
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spring — a coil
  15. season — of the year
  16. degree — an amount
  17. season — in sport
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. degree — temperature

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