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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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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: bay · fan · stock · degree · saw · sharp · fork · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stock — shares
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. sharp — clever
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. stock — goods
  23. degree — an amount
  24. sharp — exactly

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