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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. board — a committee
  6. can — to be able to
  7. pit — a hole
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. stock — goods
  10. pit — in a race
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. can — a tin
  14. stock — shares
  15. game — a match
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. can — a tin
  18. board — to get on
  19. degree — temperature
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. branch — a division
  23. degree — from a university
  24. deal — to handle

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