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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stock — shares
  7. vault — a safe
  8. wind — moving air
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. degree — temperature
  11. club — for dancing
  12. foot — a measure
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stock — goods
  20. club — for golf
  21. net — for catching
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. net — after costs
  24. club — a group

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