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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stock — shares
  5. tube — a container
  6. staff — a stick
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. degree — temperature
  10. race — a contest
  11. mine — for digging
  12. staff — employees
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. race — humankind
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. tube — the underground
  18. staff — employees
  19. stock — goods
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mine — an explosive

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