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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stock — goods
  4. scale — in music
  5. stock — shares
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tube — the underground
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. scale — size or range
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. game — a match
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. tube — a container

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