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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. can — a tin
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fall — the season
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. can — to be able to
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. can — a tin
  16. stock — goods
  17. chip — to eat
  18. toast — bread
  19. stock — shares
  20. cell — in biology
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. patient — a sick person

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