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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ground — crushed
  5. net — for catching
  6. stock — goods
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rash — hasty
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. chair — a leader
  14. net — in sport
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stock — shares
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. scale — in music
  21. net — after costs
  22. rash — a series
  23. degree — temperature
  24. scale — size or range

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