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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. track — a song
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. lean — thin
  7. degree — from a university
  8. last — finally
  9. ground — crushed
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fork — in a road
  13. ground — a position
  14. track — a path
  15. lean — to bend
  16. ground — the earth
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cell — in biology
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. last — to go on
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. last — final

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