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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. band — a ring
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. band — a music group
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stem — to come from
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. last — to go on
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bat — the animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. stock — goods
  21. last — final
  22. mine — for digging
  23. last — finally
  24. pass — to succeed

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