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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fine — all right
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. court — for sport
  11. fine — high quality
  12. court — of law
  13. chip — for betting
  14. stock — goods
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. chip — to eat
  21. band — a music group
  22. court — of a king
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. stock — shares

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