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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: field · degree · stock · squash · rock · row · sharp · leaves

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. squash — the sport
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. field — a subject
  13. stock — goods
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. degree — an amount
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. squash — to crush
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. row — a line
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. stock — shares

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