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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. stock — goods
  5. spring — a coil
  6. degree — temperature
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rest — what's left
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. spring — of water
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stock — shares
  17. fork — in a road
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. spring — the season
  20. track — a song
  21. degree — an amount
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. swing — in golf

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