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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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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. track — a song
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stock — goods
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. swing — music
  10. stock — shares
  11. track — a path
  12. degree — an amount
  13. swing — in golf
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. degree — temperature
  17. track — to keep track
  18. hand — help

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