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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stock — shares
  8. season — of the year
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — music
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. chair — a leader
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. stock — goods
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. season — in sport
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. stock — a soup base

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