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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. charge — a price
  8. wind — moving air
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bank — for money
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cell — a phone
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. foot — a measure
  16. charge — in control
  17. wind — moving air
  18. charge — electricity
  19. bank — for money
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. stock — goods
  23. bank — of a river
  24. cell — in biology

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