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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. spell — letters
  3. degree — an amount
  4. snap — to click
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. stock — goods
  7. season — in sport
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. season — of the year
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. spell — a short time
  19. degree — temperature
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spell — magic
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. nail — for a hammer

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