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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. staff — employees
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rush — hurry
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. march — music
  11. stock — goods
  12. chest — a box
  13. march — the month
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. staff — employees
  16. degree — an amount
  17. staff — a stick
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rock — a stone
  21. march — the month
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rock — music
  24. chest — of your 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