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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. march — music
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stem — to come from
  9. content — happy
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. march — the month
  16. content — the amount
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. march — the month
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stock — shares
  24. degree — temperature

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