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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stock — shares
  4. mate — a partner
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. mate — a friend
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. bore — to tire
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mate — to breed
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bear — the animal
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stock — goods
  24. degree — from a university

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