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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. stem — to come from
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. ball — a dance
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stock — shares
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — a box
  14. deal — to handle
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. ball — a great time
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. stock — goods

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