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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. pop — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — a line
  4. pop — soda
  5. stock — shares
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. stock — goods
  10. tear — to rip
  11. season — of the year
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. pop — to visit
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. season — in sport
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — to paddle
  23. degree — temperature
  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