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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. chair — a leader
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — help
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pass — a permit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — shares
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. season — in sport
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cap — of ice
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — of the year
  24. cap — a hat

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