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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 124 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. degree — from a university
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — a box
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. stock — shares
  10. squash — to crush
  11. fine — all right
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chest — of your body
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lean — to bend
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — an amount

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