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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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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: swing · mark · straw · wind · track · object · stock · degree

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — to keep track
  4. mark — a trace
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. object — a thing
  12. track — a path
  13. swing — in golf
  14. track — a song
  15. swing — to play on
  16. object — to protest
  17. mark — a grade
  18. swing — music
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. object — an aim
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — goods
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stock — a soup base

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