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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rock · board · nail · cold · capital · degree · shower · wound

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rock — a stone
  8. capital — money
  9. board — to get on
  10. wound — an injury
  11. board — a committee
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — not warm
  16. capital — a city
  17. cold — an illness
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rock — music
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — rain
  24. cold — the Cold War

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