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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stock — shares
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stock — goods
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. shower — rain
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wound — an injury
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. rock — a stone
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rock — music
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. degree — an amount
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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