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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 · capital · wind · degree · plane · bulb · pass · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stock — shares
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. capital — money
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. plane — a tool
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pass — a permit
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. stock — goods
  24. pass — to spend time

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