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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chip — to eat
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lean — to bend
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chest — a box
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. sharp — clever
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bound — obliged
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stock — shares
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stock — goods
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chest — of your body

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