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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bound — certain
  4. stock — goods
  5. tube — the underground
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bound — obliged
  10. degree — an amount
  11. kick — in football
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — steady
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. firm — a company
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. bound — tied together
  21. tube — a container
  22. stock — shares
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. degree — temperature

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