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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: wake · branch · kick · stock · bay · shower · degree · key

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. key — in music
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. shower — rain
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stock — shares
  8. branch — a division
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wake — a trail
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. key — the most important part
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. stock — goods
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. key — for a lock
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. degree — temperature
  24. kick — in football

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