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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pop — music
  3. fine — all right
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stock — shares
  6. pop — soda
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. fine — high quality
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stock — goods
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. shower — rain
  23. bear — the animal
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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