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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. track — a path
  8. fall — the season
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. track — a song
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stock — shares
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. season — of the year
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. track — to keep track
  20. degree — temperature
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. clip — a video

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