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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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Word bank
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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. degree — an amount
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bass — the fish
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — the season
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. land — to come down
  16. rash — a series
  17. stock — goods
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. land — a country
  20. spring — of water
  21. bass — low music
  22. land — ground
  23. rash — hasty
  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