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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. board — to get on
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. stock — shares
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. board — a committee
  13. pitch — completely
  14. rush — hurry
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bark — to shout
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. track — a path
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. stock — goods

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