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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stock — shares
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bass — the fish
  7. stock — goods
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bass — low music
  12. toast — bread
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. mark — a trace
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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