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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: sharp · stock · perch · pit · row · can · degree · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stock — goods
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stock — shares
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wind — moving air
  15. can — a tin
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. sharp — clever
  18. row — a line
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. row — to paddle
  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