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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: pitcher · rash · hand · drill · degree · season · stock · fan

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. drill — army training
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. drill — the tool
  6. hand — in cards
  7. season — of the year
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rash — hasty
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. hand — help
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rash — a series
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. season — in sport
  20. stock — goods
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hand — part of the body

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