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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. drill — the tool
  4. press — newspapers
  5. degree — an amount
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. degree — from a university
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fine — all right
  10. snap — to click
  11. press — to push
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fine — high quality
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. press — a publisher
  18. drill — army training
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. stock — shares
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fine — a penalty

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