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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: roll · bore · fine · degree · bear · shower · straw · chest

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. degree — an amount
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. shower — rain
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. roll — a list
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fine — all right
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. chest — a box
  17. fine — high quality
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bore — to tire

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