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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — shares
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. degree — from a university
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stock — goods
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. degree — an amount
  12. land — ground
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wound — an injury
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. squash — to crush
  18. land — a country
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. squash — the sport
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. land — to come down
  24. racket — for tennis

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