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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. ball — a great time
  7. toast — bread
  8. ball — a dance
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. face — part of the head
  12. stock — shares
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. face — to confront
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. degree — an amount
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — soda
  22. face — to point toward
  23. degree — temperature
  24. stock — goods

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