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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 116 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. stock — shares
  3. band — a music group
  4. game — wild animals
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. last — final
  8. net — after costs
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. can — a tin
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a ring
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — finally
  19. can — to be able to
  20. last — to go on
  21. stock — goods
  22. game — a match
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. band — a rubber band

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