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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 · bowl · pitcher · ball · bear · rash · capital · degree

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stock — shares
  8. rash — a series
  9. capital — money
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. ball — a dance
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stock — goods
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. capital — a city
  24. rash — on the skin

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