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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.

Make a worksheet

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's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. net — for catching
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. net — in sport
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. degree — from a university
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. net — after costs
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. tube — the underground
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tube — a container
  22. degree — an amount
  23. chair — a leader
  24. branch — a division

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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