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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · stock · coach · cell · scale · mate

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. scale — in music
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — an amount
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mate — to breed
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mate — a partner
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. cell — in biology
  17. degree — from a university
  18. coach — a trainer

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