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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. rash — a series
  3. degree — temperature
  4. field — a subject
  5. degree — from a university
  6. field — for sport
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bank — of a river
  11. rash — hasty
  12. net — for catching
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. march — the month
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — an amount
  20. field — farmland
  21. march — music
  22. bank — for money
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. wake — a trail

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