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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. suit — clothes
  3. stock — goods
  4. kid — child
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. degree — an amount
  8. suit — to fit
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. suit — in cards
  12. lean — thin
  13. current — electric
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. saw — the tool
  19. current — of water
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. current — happening now
  24. saw — the tool

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