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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. land — a country
  3. chair — a leader
  4. land — to come down
  5. row — to paddle
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — temperature
  8. land — ground
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mate — a partner
  12. rock — music
  13. squash — the sport
  14. row — a line
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. rock — a stone
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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