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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 116 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. staff — employees
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stock — goods
  10. snap — to click
  11. degree — temperature
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chip — to eat
  14. fine — high quality
  15. degree — from a university
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fine — all right
  22. staff — a stick
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. fine — a penalty

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