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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. craft — boats
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. hand — help
  5. rush — hurry
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. stock — goods
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mouse — the animal

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