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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cold — an illness
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mark — a trace
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mate — a friend
  9. stem — to come from
  10. vault — a safe
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. mate — a partner
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. cold — not warm
  15. plane — a tool
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. stock — shares
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stock — goods
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. mark — to pay attention

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