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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lean — thin
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. can — to be able to
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stock — goods
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pass — a permit
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. lean — to bend
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rash — a series
  22. degree — temperature
  23. shower — rain
  24. rash — hasty

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