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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. fine — all right
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spring — the season
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. drill — the tool
  16. stock — goods
  17. degree — temperature
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. drill — army training
  20. bass — low music
  21. drill — a practice
  22. spring — of water
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stock — shares

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