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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. rash — hasty
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a skill
  5. press — a publisher
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. tear — to rip
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — to push
  13. rash — a series
  14. stock — shares
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. chip — for betting
  18. press — newspapers
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. degree — temperature
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chip — to eat
  24. stock — goods

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