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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: lash · stock · cold · rush · firm · degree · chair · pit

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pit — a hole
  3. firm — a company
  4. stock — shares
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stock — goods
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — hurry
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pit — in a race
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. firm — decided

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