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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. degree — an amount
  5. season — of the year
  6. bore — to tire
  7. degree — temperature
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chip — for betting
  11. suit — to fit
  12. stock — shares
  13. season — in sport
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bore — to drill
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — clothes
  19. row — a line
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. stock — goods
  24. row — to paddle

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