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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. degree — from a university
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wake — a trail
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stock — goods
  12. face — to confront
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ball — a great time
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. stock — shares
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ball — a dance
  24. racket — a loud noise

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