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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 116 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: land · nail · stock · fork · patient · degree · band · shower

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. land — to come down
  3. stock — goods
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. shower — rain
  6. fork — in a road
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stock — shares
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. band — a music group
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. land — ground
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. land — a country
  21. band — a ring
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. degree — from a university

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