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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. stock — shares
  5. degree — from a university
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bat — the animal
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fine — all right
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. chip — for betting
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. stock — goods
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fine — high quality
  23. toast — bread
  24. nail — for a hammer

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