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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. pass — a permit
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. spring — a coil
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spring — of water
  18. degree — temperature
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — bread
  21. stock — goods
  22. pit — a hole
  23. spring — the season
  24. pit — in a race

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