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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 · game · bore · degree · march · capital · foot · tube

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bore — to drill
  3. march — music
  4. stock — shares
  5. tube — the underground
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. foot — a measure
  8. tube — a container
  9. stock — goods
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. degree — from a university
  13. game — a match
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. degree — an amount
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — a city
  19. march — the month
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. capital — money
  24. game — wild animals

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