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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tube — a container
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stock — goods
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stock — shares
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. bore — to tire
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. toast — bread
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bore — to drill
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. degree — from a university

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