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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: fan · cue · pound · tear · degree · straw · present · stock

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. degree — temperature
  3. present — there
  4. pound — a weight
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. present — the time now
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cue — a signal
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. tear — to rip
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cue — for pool
  19. stock — shares
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cue — a hint
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stock — goods

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