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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. stock — shares
  3. rest — what's left
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. object — a thing
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. rest — a break
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stock — goods
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wind — moving air
  16. perch — the fish
  17. object — to protest
  18. perch — for a bird

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