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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. firm — steady
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. degree — an amount
  6. suit — in cards
  7. stock — shares
  8. pit — in a race
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cold — an illness
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lean — thin
  13. pit — a hole
  14. stock — goods
  15. lean — to bend
  16. suit — clothes
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. suit — to fit
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. firm — decided
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. firm — a company

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