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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stock — goods
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. swing — music
  6. band — a ring
  7. stock — shares
  8. ground — crushed
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. swing — to play on
  11. foot — a measure
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. degree — from a university
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. cue — a hint
  17. swing — in golf
  18. band — a music group
  19. cue — for pool
  20. degree — temperature
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cue — a signal
  24. band — a rubber band

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