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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. stock — shares
  3. bank — for money
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. race — humankind
  6. degree — temperature
  7. race — a contest
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bank — of a river
  14. rush — hurry
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pop — music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stock — goods
  22. row — a line
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. rush — a thrill

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