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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. degree — temperature
  5. game — a match
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. firm — a company
  8. fork — in a road
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. game — wild animals
  13. stock — goods
  14. firm — decided
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kick — in football
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. stock — shares
  20. firm — steady
  21. degree — from a university
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. date — the fruit

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