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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. stock — shares
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cold — not warm
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rush — hurry
  14. stock — goods
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. degree — temperature
  19. kick — in football
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rush — a thrill

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