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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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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: drill · degree · wind · fork · shower · cue · foot · can

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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 — an amount
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cue — a hint
  4. can — to be able to
  5. foot — a measure
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — to wash
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. cue — a signal
  11. degree — temperature
  12. can — a tin
  13. shower — rain
  14. cue — for pool
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. drill — a practice
  18. can — a tin
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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