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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. stock — goods
  5. rash — hasty
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. kid — to tease
  11. drill — army training
  12. pit — in a race
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lean — thin
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. lean — to bend
  17. drill — a practice
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. pit — a hole
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. kid — child
  24. stock — shares

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