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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. band — a ring
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. stock — shares
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cue — a hint
  8. degree — temperature
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cue — for pool
  14. band — a music group
  15. cue — a signal
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — crushed
  19. toast — bread
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stock — goods
  22. ground — a position
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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