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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. stock — shares
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stock — goods
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hand — in cards
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wind — moving air
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. degree — from a university
  19. hand — help
  20. swing — in golf
  21. rush — hurry
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. rush — a thrill

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