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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rest — a break
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rest — what's left
  7. field — for sport
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fall — to drop
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rest — what's left
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stock — shares
  22. rush — hurry
  23. fall — the season
  24. shower — to wash

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