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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stock — shares
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. stock — goods
  8. pop — to visit
  9. degree — from a university
  10. content — happy
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spring — the season
  18. content — the amount
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rest — a break
  21. pop — soda
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. spring — of water
  24. mine — belonging to me

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