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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.

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: degree · spring · hand · stock · fan · pass · bowl · march

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spring — of water
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — the season
  9. degree — from a university
  10. march — music
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. stock — shares
  17. pass — a permit
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. spring — a coil
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stock — goods
  24. fan — a supporter

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