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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. hand — help
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pop — to visit
  5. can — a tin
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. can — to be able to
  8. degree — from a university
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. can — a tin
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pop — soda
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — music
  16. stock — goods
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. branch — a division
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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