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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: staff · stock · shower · date · degree · race · swing · cue

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cue — a signal
  4. date — the fruit
  5. staff — a stick
  6. race — a contest
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. staff — employees
  10. shower — rain
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. race — the arms race
  16. degree — an amount
  17. staff — employees
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cue — a hint
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cue — for pool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. race — humankind
  24. date — on the calendar

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