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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. staff — employees
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stock — shares
  5. pit — in a race
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. file — a tool
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pit — a hole
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — employees
  13. pound — a weight
  14. stock — goods
  15. staff — a stick
  16. file — a document
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. file — a line of people
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. degree — temperature
  24. arm — part of the body

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