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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: degree · chair · mine · bat · club · firm · stock · bear

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. club — a group
  6. bear — the animal
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — steady
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stock — goods
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. firm — a company
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bear — the animal
  18. club — for dancing
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mine — for digging
  24. club — for golf

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