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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: shower · pound · cabinet · clip · stand · field · stick · degree

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. shower — rain
  3. clip — to cut
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. field — a subject
  6. degree — from a university
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pound — a weight
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stand — to bear
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. clip — a video
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — for sport
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. field — farmland

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