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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rule — government
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — money
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stock — goods
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. rule — a law
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kick — in football
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bank — of a river
  22. stock — shares
  23. mine — for digging
  24. capital — a city

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