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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · racket · squash · chest · foot · degree · stock · file

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. file — a line of people
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. foot — a measure
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stock — goods
  10. chest — of your body
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. file — a document
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chest — a box
  20. stock — shares
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. file — a tool
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. squash — to crush

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