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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stock — shares
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. land — a country
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. race — humankind
  14. land — ground
  15. race — the arms race
  16. land — to come down
  17. stock — goods
  18. capital — a city
  19. board — to get on
  20. race — a contest
  21. degree — an amount
  22. board — a committee
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stem — a stem cell

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