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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 124 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — an amount
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. tube — the underground
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. stock — shares
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wax — to grow
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stock — goods
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tube — a container
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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