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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: rash · degree · squash · firm · stock · shower · cabinet · mark

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rash — a series
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. squash — to crush
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. shower — rain
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mark — a trace
  14. firm — steady
  15. stock — shares
  16. mark — a grade
  17. degree — temperature
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — a company
  22. stock — goods
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. squash — the sport

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