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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 116 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. club — for golf
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. club — for dancing
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — an amount
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. club — a group
  17. stem — to come from
  18. game — a match
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. game — wild animals
  24. hide — to keep secret

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