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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bank — of a river
  6. shower — to wash
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stock — goods
  11. degree — from a university
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lean — to bend
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stock — shares
  16. mine — for digging
  17. shower — rain
  18. bank — for money
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lean — thin
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bank — for money

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