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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. net — for catching
  3. drill — army training
  4. cue — for pool
  5. shower — rain
  6. net — in sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. cue — a signal
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. net — after costs
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. drill — the tool
  13. mate — a friend
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cue — a hint
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fork — in a road
  19. drill — a practice
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stock — goods
  22. mate — a partner
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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