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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. key — the most important part
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stock — goods
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stock — shares
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bark — to shout
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. key — in music
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. key — for a lock
  24. degree — from a university

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