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

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. board — a committee
  3. stem — to come from
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. degree — temperature
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. degree — an amount
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stock — shares
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. tear — from crying
  20. board — to get on
  21. content — happy
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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