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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 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. net — for catching
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cap — of ice
  8. season — in sport
  9. face — to point toward
  10. hand — in cards
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cap — a lid
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. stock — shares
  19. face — to confront
  20. degree — from a university
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cap — a hat
  23. stock — goods
  24. degree — an amount

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