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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: tear · pitch · stock · foot · degree · bear

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. foot — a measure
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. stock — goods
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. pitch — completely
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. stock — shares
  17. degree — temperature
  18. tear — to rip

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