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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · shower · rock · pit · degree · stick

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. shower — to wash
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pit — in a race
  12. kick — in football
  13. degree — temperature
  14. shower — rain
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — to move gently

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