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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: chest · bank · shower · field · toast · race · degree · stock

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chest — a box
  3. degree — temperature
  4. field — for sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. field — farmland
  8. degree — from a university
  9. field — a subject
  10. bank — for money
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. toast — bread
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bank — for money
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. stock — goods
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bank — of a river
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stock — shares

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