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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: hand · degree · coach · shower · pound · cap · pop · tear

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. cap — of ice
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cap — a hat
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pop — soda
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. shower — to wash
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cap — a lid
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tear — from crying
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. hand — help

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