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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 120 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: rash · degree · cap · spring · stand · chair · bowl · shower

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. spring — a coil
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chair — a leader
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spring — of water
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rash — a series
  11. shower — rain
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. stand — to bear
  15. spring — the season
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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