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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. clip — a video
  4. key — in music
  5. firm — a company
  6. clip — for paper
  7. firm — decided
  8. chair — a leader
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stock — shares
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. clip — to cut
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. key — the most important part
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. firm — steady
  18. degree — temperature
  19. vault — a safe
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stock — goods
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stock — a soup base

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