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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. stock — goods
  4. kick — in football
  5. squash — to crush
  6. kid — to tease
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rush — hurry
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. degree — from a university
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. snap — to click
  15. stem — to come from
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. kid — child
  19. degree — an amount
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stock — shares
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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