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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. rush — hurry
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. court — of a king
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. sharp — clever
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. court — for sport
  20. land — ground
  21. track — a path
  22. court — of law
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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