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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 120 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. degree — from a university
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. band — a music group
  5. degree — temperature
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stock — goods
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. band — a ring
  16. squash — to crush
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. capital — money
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. ball — a great time
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. capital — a city
  23. squash — the sport
  24. racket — for tennis

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