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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 valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. degree — an amount
  3. track — to keep track
  4. stock — goods
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. track — a path
  11. band — a ring
  12. track — a song
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stock — shares
  15. object — an aim
  16. spring — the season
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — to drill
  21. band — a music group
  22. spring — of water
  23. sharp — clever
  24. object — to protest

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