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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — clever
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fall — the season
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bank — of a river
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bank — for money
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bank — for money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stock — shares
  19. fall — to drop
  20. degree — from a university
  21. swing — to play on
  22. dip — to sink
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. swing — music

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