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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cap — a hat
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. cap — a lid
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stock — shares
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. roll — a list
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. degree — an amount
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cell — in biology
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. degree — from a university
  18. date — the fruit
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cap — of ice
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stock — goods
  24. date — on the calendar

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