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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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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: deal · kid · club · bass · degree · file · temple · stock

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bass — the fish
  3. stock — goods
  4. degree — temperature
  5. kid — to tease
  6. club — a group
  7. kid — child
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stock — shares
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. file — a tool
  16. club — for golf
  17. degree — from a university
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. deal — to handle
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. file — a line of people
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. file — a document
  24. bass — low 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