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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. land — to come down
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. swing — in golf
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. degree — temperature
  12. perch — the fish
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. swing — to play on
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. rest — what's left
  22. swing — music
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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