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

Word bank: hide · pit · stock · degree · chair · bank · cell · cue

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pit — a hole
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bank — for money
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. cell — a phone
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bank — for money
  14. cue — for pool
  15. pit — in a race
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stock — goods
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cue — a signal
  24. chair — a leader

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