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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: lie · pound · drill · race · stock · degree · fork · charge

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. charge — in control
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. fork — in a road
  6. charge — a price
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. race — humankind
  9. lie — to recline
  10. stock — shares
  11. degree — from a university
  12. race — the arms race
  13. charge — electricity
  14. stock — goods
  15. drill — the tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. drill — army training
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. degree — an amount
  24. drill — a practice

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