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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spring — the season
  7. bore — to drill
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bore — to tire
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. firm — decided
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. firm — steady
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. spring — of water
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stock — goods
  23. bore — gave birth
  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