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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stock — goods
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. chip — for betting
  9. degree — an amount
  10. last — finally
  11. row — a line
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. stock — shares
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. last — final
  17. row — to paddle
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. last — to go on
  20. face — to point toward
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. degree — temperature

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