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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. stock — shares
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chip — to eat
  9. ground — the earth
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. stock — goods
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ground — crushed
  14. race — a contest
  15. pass — a permit
  16. race — humankind
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chip — for betting
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ground — a position
  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