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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 116 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stock — shares
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wake — a trail
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — a leader
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. stock — goods
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. hand — help
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. coach — a trainer

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