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

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. dip — to sink
  3. shower — rain
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. field — for sport
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stock — shares
  11. degree — temperature
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. drill — the tool
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stock — goods
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. drill — a practice
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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