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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. stock — goods
  5. degree — an amount
  6. capital — money
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pound — a weight
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rock — a stone
  15. stock — shares
  16. spell — letters
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. capital — a city
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. pound — for dogs

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