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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bulb — for light
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. spell — magic
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. degree — an amount
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. spell — letters
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. spell — a short time
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pitcher — a jug

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