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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. degree — temperature
  5. season — in sport
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. court — for sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. stock — shares
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spring — a coil
  14. season — of the year
  15. court — of a king
  16. degree — from a university
  17. court — of law
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. stock — goods
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bass — low music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. bass — the fish

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