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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. staff — a stick
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — low music
  14. stock — goods
  15. staff — employees
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. root — the cause
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wound — an injury
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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