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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stock — shares
  4. court — of law
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. season — in sport
  10. stock — goods
  11. rule — government
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — for sport
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. toast — bread
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. season — of the year

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