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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. stock — goods
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. plane — a tool
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. tube — a container
  13. pitch — completely
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. foot — a measure
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. shower — rain
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. tube — the underground
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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