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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. last — finally
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stock — goods
  5. last — final
  6. degree — temperature
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bank — of a river
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. pop — soda
  12. key — in music
  13. stock — shares
  14. key — for a lock
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. last — to go on
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bank — for money
  19. pop — to visit
  20. root — of a plant
  21. key — the most important part
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bank — for money
  24. pop — music

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