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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. roll — a cake
  3. hand — help
  4. cell — a phone
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. stock — goods
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cell — in biology
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. roll — a list
  14. tube — a container
  15. degree — an amount
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. tube — the underground
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. tube — in a tire

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