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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. track — a path
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. stock — shares
  6. rush — hurry
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. degree — temperature
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. foot — a measure
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. spell — magic
  17. stock — goods
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. track — a song
  21. fine — high quality
  22. spell — letters
  23. track — to keep track
  24. saw — the tool

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