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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. object — an aim
  3. march — the month
  4. stock — goods
  5. march — the month
  6. object — a thing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. drill — the tool
  14. degree — an amount
  15. drill — army training
  16. key — the most important part
  17. object — to protest
  18. stock — shares
  19. degree — from a university
  20. key — in music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. march — music
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. drill — a practice

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