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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. stock — goods
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. degree — from a university
  7. race — humankind
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. current — happening now
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wake — a trail
  14. current — of water
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — a phone
  22. current — electric
  23. cell — in biology
  24. degree — temperature

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