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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stock — shares
  5. craft — boats
  6. bass — low music
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bore — to tire
  9. stock — goods
  10. cap — of ice
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. degree — temperature
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. bass — the fish
  21. pass — a permit
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. pass — to spend time

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