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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bound — certain
  3. degree — an amount
  4. swing — in golf
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — soda
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bound — obliged
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bound — tied together
  17. pop — music
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. sharp — clever
  20. stock — shares
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. swing — music
  23. stock — goods
  24. trunk — of a car

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