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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. degree — temperature
  3. land — ground
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. land — to come down
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. net — after costs
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bore — to drill
  13. stock — goods
  14. net — in sport
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. land — a country
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bore — to tire
  21. degree — from a university
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. degree — an amount
  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