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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: degree · board · racket · stock · march · cell · mine · fine

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. board — to get on
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. march — music
  9. board — a committee
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mine — for digging
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cell — a phone
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. fine — all right
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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