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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. staff — employees
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. degree — temperature
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. stock — goods
  11. file — a tool
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. staff — employees
  14. stock — shares
  15. file — a line of people
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kick — in football
  20. file — a document
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bear — the animal
  24. racket — a loud noise

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