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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. degree — temperature
  3. stock — goods
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. chest — of your body
  8. branch — a division
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. mine — for digging
  11. degree — from a university
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. face — part of the head
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. face — to confront
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chest — a box
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. face — to point toward
  23. kick — in football
  24. mine — belonging to me

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