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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. wound — an injury
  3. track — a path
  4. march — the month
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. stock — goods
  17. march — the month
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. degree — temperature
  20. stock — shares
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wound — an injury
  23. march — music
  24. prune — the fruit

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