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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stock — shares
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. present — there
  7. chair — a leader
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stand — to bear
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stock — goods
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to tire
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. degree — temperature
  20. present — the time now
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bore — to drill
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. present — a gift

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