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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. content — happy
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. stem — to come from
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bass — the fish
  11. content — the amount
  12. bass — low music
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stock — goods
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. board — to get on
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. degree — an amount
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. board — a committee
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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