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

Word bank: drill · degree · wind · fork · shower · cue

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cue — for pool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. degree — from a university
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. shower — rain
  10. cue — a signal
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cue — a hint
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — army training

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