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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stock — shares
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stock — goods
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bat — the animal
  8. field — a subject
  9. degree — temperature
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bulb — for light
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bulb — for light
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. key — the most important part
  20. track — a path
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bat — in an idiom

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