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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. degree — temperature
  8. ground — a position
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — goods
  16. stem — to come from
  17. ground — crushed
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. chest — a box
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. chip — for betting
  23. stock — shares
  24. arm — part of the body

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