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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. kid — to tease
  3. current — electric
  4. stock — shares
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. current — of water
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. current — happening now
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pass — a permit
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bass — low music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bass — the fish
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chair — a leader
  24. pass — to spend time

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