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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. charge — a price
  3. degree — an amount
  4. land — to come down
  5. stock — goods
  6. net — for catching
  7. land — a country
  8. charge — electricity
  9. degree — from a university
  10. ball — a dance
  11. net — after costs
  12. ball — a great time
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. object — to protest
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. net — in sport
  19. object — an aim
  20. land — ground
  21. charge — in control
  22. stock — shares
  23. object — a thing
  24. degree — temperature

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