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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pass — a permit
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rush — hurry
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stock — goods
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. rule — a law
  18. march — music
  19. content — the amount
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. rule — government
  23. degree — an amount
  24. content — happy

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