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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stock — shares
  5. content — the amount
  6. saw — the tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bass — low music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stock — goods
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bank — for money
  18. bass — the fish
  19. file — a tool
  20. content — happy
  21. file — a document
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — from a university

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