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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stock — shares
  3. firm — a company
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. stock — goods
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. degree — temperature
  18. spell — letters
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stock — a soup base

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