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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: bowl · bore · craft · degree · march · shower · rash · stick

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bore — to drill
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. shower — rain
  13. rash — a series
  14. degree — temperature
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. rash — hasty
  18. degree — from a university
  19. craft — boats
  20. march — the month
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. march — music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. march — the month

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