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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stock — shares
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. stock — goods
  6. lean — to bend
  7. degree — temperature
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kick — in football
  14. clip — a video
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. lean — thin
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — to cut
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. degree — an amount
  24. kick — with a leg

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