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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: stock · leaves · dip · degree · ball · pitcher · fall · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. ball — a great time
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. degree — an amount
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fall — the season
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fall — to drop
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stock — goods
  20. swing — in golf
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. ball — a dance
  24. swing — 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