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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. degree — an amount
  6. squash — the sport
  7. degree — temperature
  8. lean — thin
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stock — goods
  18. squash — to crush

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