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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fork — in a road
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stock — shares
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. band — a music group
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. spring — the season
  11. band — a ring
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rash — a series
  18. spring — of water
  19. degree — from a university
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rash — hasty
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. stock — goods

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