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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rock — a stone
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. rock — music
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fine — all right
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. kick — in football
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stock — shares
  20. squash — the sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wax — to grow
  24. stock — goods

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