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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 120 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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bat — the animal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pop — soda
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. pop — music
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pop — to visit
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mine — for digging
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. lie — to recline

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