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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. pop — to visit
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rash — a series
  7. stock — shares
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mug — a cup
  10. pop — soda
  11. court — for sport
  12. pop — music
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. stock — goods
  15. dip — to sink
  16. rash — hasty
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. court — of law
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mug — a face
  23. court — of a king
  24. rash — on the skin

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