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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. stock — goods
  5. rest — what's left
  6. swing — to play on
  7. degree — an amount
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stock — shares
  13. row — a line
  14. prune — to trim
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rest — a break
  19. pound — a weight
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. row — to paddle

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