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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. board — a committee
  3. stock — shares
  4. staff — employees
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. board — to get on
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stock — goods
  10. face — part of the head
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. staff — employees
  13. rule — a law
  14. degree — an amount
  15. shower — rain
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. staff — a stick
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rule — government
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. shower — to wash

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