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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cabinet · ball · chair · pass · degree · jam · plane · stock

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. ball — a great time
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pass — a permit
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. ball — a dance
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  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