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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stock — goods
  5. face — to point toward
  6. degree — an amount
  7. face — to confront
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mark — a trace
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. press — a publisher
  15. stock — shares
  16. press — to push
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chair — a leader
  20. ball — a great time
  21. face — part of the head
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mark — a grade
  24. ball — a round shape

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