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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 116 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stock — goods
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — a coil
  6. march — music
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spring — the season
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pop — music
  11. degree — temperature
  12. spring — of water
  13. march — the month
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stock — shares
  16. row — a line
  17. pop — to visit
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pop — soda
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. pitch — completely

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