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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stock — shares
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. row — a line
  6. stock — goods
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. suit — in cards
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. degree — from a university
  17. row — to paddle
  18. suit — clothes
  19. bore — to tire
  20. suit — to fit
  21. bore — to drill
  22. degree — an amount
  23. game — wild animals
  24. perch — for a bird

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