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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chip — to eat
  4. degree — an amount
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. fine — all right
  9. stock — shares
  10. fine — high quality
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. row — a line
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. chip — for betting
  17. stock — goods
  18. scale — in music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. clip — for paper
  21. degree — from a university
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. stock — a soup base

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