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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. face — to point toward
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. present — there
  6. chair — a leader
  7. present — a gift
  8. degree — an amount
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. roll — a list
  13. degree — from a university
  14. present — the time now
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. face — to confront
  17. roll — a cake
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. vault — a safe
  22. stock — shares
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. face — part of the head

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