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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. charge — a price
  3. cap — of ice
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cap — a hat
  9. charge — electricity
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. charge — in control
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. chest — a box
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. degree — from a university
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bowl — a football final

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