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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 124 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stock — goods
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mate — a partner
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. band — a ring
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mate — to breed
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. degree — an amount
  19. band — a music group
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. degree — from a university
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. mate — a friend

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