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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. land — ground
  3. stock — goods
  4. bound — tied together
  5. branch — a division
  6. degree — an amount
  7. game — a match
  8. stock — shares
  9. bound — obliged
  10. season — in sport
  11. bound — certain
  12. roll — a cake
  13. game — wild animals
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. degree — from a university
  18. land — a country
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. degree — temperature
  21. land — to come down
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. roll — a list

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