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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: fan · stock · degree · key · shower · roll · band · chip

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chip — to eat
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. key — in music
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — a cake
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chip — for betting
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. shower — rain
  21. key — the most important part
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. key — for a lock

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