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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stock — shares
  4. degree — temperature
  5. band — a music group
  6. stock — goods
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. band — a ring
  10. present — there
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fine — all right
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fine — high quality
  18. degree — from a university
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. stock — a soup base

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