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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mate — a friend
  7. root — the cause
  8. stock — goods
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mate — to breed
  13. net — after costs
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. root — of a plant
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. tear — to rip
  18. root — of a word
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — an amount
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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