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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stock — shares
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. degree — an amount
  5. march — the month
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stock — goods
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — a trace
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — music
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wind — moving air
  21. march — the month
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. degree — temperature

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