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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. stock — shares
  3. current — happening now
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. band — a music group
  8. degree — an amount
  9. net — after costs
  10. vault — a safe
  11. root — of a plant
  12. tube — the underground
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. current — electric
  17. current — of water
  18. stock — goods
  19. degree — temperature
  20. net — in sport
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. band — a ring

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