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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. stock — goods
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. stock — shares
  6. firm — decided
  7. bound — certain
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. firm — a company
  10. degree — an amount
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. degree — from a university
  14. prune — to trim
  15. firm — steady
  16. spring — of water
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bound — obliged

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