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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 116 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pop — music
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pop — to visit
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chair — a leader
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. degree — an amount
  18. key — in music
  19. scale — in music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pop — soda
  23. key — for a lock
  24. degree — temperature

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