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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stock — shares
  4. scale — size or range
  5. stock — goods
  6. track — a song
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. fine — all right
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. degree — an amount
  13. track — a path
  14. club — for golf
  15. track — to keep track
  16. club — a group
  17. kid — child
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. club — for dancing
  20. degree — from a university
  21. scale — in music
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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