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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: cabinet · snap · sharp · last · stock · row · rash · degree

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. row — a line
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. degree — temperature
  11. last — final
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stock — goods
  14. rash — hasty
  15. snap — to click
  16. stock — shares
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. rash — a series
  21. last — to go on
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. degree — from a university
  24. last — finally

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