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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: pitch · band · stock · degree · pitcher · fine · shower · lash

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. band — a music group
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. fine — high quality
  14. stock — goods
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — rain
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. pitch — completely
  24. degree — temperature

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