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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. degree — from a university
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stock — shares
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. stock — goods
  14. degree — an amount
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. net — after costs
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. staff — a stick
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. staff — employees

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