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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 120 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. charge — in control
  7. saw — the tool
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stock — goods
  10. charge — a price
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ground — the earth
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. degree — an amount
  21. ground — a position
  22. charge — electricity
  23. stock — shares
  24. bat — for baseball

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