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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stock — shares
  4. object — to protest
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. degree — from a university
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. stock — goods
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cold — an illness
  14. object — an aim
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. object — a thing

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