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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. field — farmland
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. field — a subject
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mate — a friend
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. stock — goods
  16. degree — from a university
  17. field — for sport
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. mate — to breed
  24. stock — a soup base

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