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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. plane — a tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mark — a trace
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. degree — temperature
  11. track — to keep track
  12. degree — from a university
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. tear — from crying
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. mark — a grade
  20. perch — the fish
  21. tear — to rip
  22. stock — goods
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. pitcher — a jug

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