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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rock — music
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. object — a thing
  6. rest — a break
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. object — an aim
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. object — to protest
  13. stock — goods
  14. pit — in a race
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. stock — shares
  18. pit — a hole
  19. chair — a leader
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rest — what's left
  23. club — for dancing
  24. degree — an amount

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