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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: deal · kick · mouse · stock · march · degree · wind · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. file — a line of people
  2. march — the month
  3. stock — shares
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. deal — to handle
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. march — music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. file — a document
  18. stock — goods
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. degree — from a university
  21. march — the month
  22. file — a tool
  23. kick — a thrill
  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