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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · degree · stock · rash · club · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pass — a permit
  10. stock — shares
  11. ball — a dance
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stock — goods
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ball — a great time
  16. club — a group
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. club — for golf

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