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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. degree — an amount
  3. can — to be able to
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cue — a signal
  10. stock — goods
  11. can — a tin
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cue — for pool
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. can — a tin
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wake — a trail
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chest — of your body
  24. dip — to dunk

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