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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. degree — from a university
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. pound — a weight
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. stock — shares
  16. file — a tool
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. degree — temperature
  20. stem — to come from
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cell — a phone
  23. file — a document
  24. dip — to sink

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