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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stock — goods
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rush — hurry
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. tear — from crying
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tear — to rip
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. stock — shares
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. rush — a thrill
  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