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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stock — goods
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. stock — shares
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. track — a song
  8. tube — the underground
  9. saw — the tool
  10. track — a path
  11. toast — bread
  12. chest — of your body
  13. season — of the year
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chest — a box
  18. season — in sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. degree — an amount
  22. track — to keep track
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. degree — temperature

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