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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 116 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. rock — music
  3. shower — rain
  4. stock — shares
  5. object — to protest
  6. rock — a stone
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. can — a tin
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. can — to be able to
  15. degree — temperature
  16. shower — to wash
  17. degree — from a university
  18. object — an aim
  19. can — a tin
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. object — a thing
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. degree — an amount

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