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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stock — goods
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bear — the animal
  5. degree — an amount
  6. snap — to click
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bear — the animal
  11. lie — to recline
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mine — for digging
  20. capital — a city
  21. date — the fruit
  22. stock — shares
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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