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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. mate — to breed
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. stock — goods
  6. spring — a coil
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. spring — the season
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. capital — money
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. plane — a tool
  22. spring — of water
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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