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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. degree — an amount
  4. season — of the year
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pass — a permit
  10. season — in sport
  11. staff — employees
  12. stock — shares
  13. staff — a stick
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bat — the animal
  21. staff — employees
  22. stock — goods
  23. degree — temperature
  24. racket — a loud noise

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