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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bore — to tire
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stock — goods
  7. degree — temperature
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bass — the fish
  13. march — music
  14. mark — a grade
  15. hand — help
  16. bore — to drill
  17. stock — shares
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. march — the month
  24. coach — a trainer

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