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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — help
  4. rule — government
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rule — a law
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wound — an injury
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. degree — temperature
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stock — shares
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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