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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stock — goods
  3. net — in sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stock — shares
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. net — for catching
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. content — happy
  16. net — after costs
  17. content — the amount
  18. saw — the tool
  19. season — in sport
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. season — of the year
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. season — to add flavour

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