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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · fork · game · nail · shower · rock · degree · rash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. game — a match
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rock — a stone
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. swing — to play on
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rock — music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. fork — in a road
  20. swing — music
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. game — wild animals
  23. degree — temperature
  24. swing — in golf

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