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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.

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: bear · chest · stock · season · drill · pit · degree · band

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. season — of the year
  3. drill — army training
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chest — a box
  8. degree — temperature
  9. season — in sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pit — in a race
  14. stock — shares
  15. band — a ring
  16. bear — the animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. stock — goods
  22. chest — of your body
  23. degree — an amount
  24. season — to add flavour

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