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

Word bank: prune · degree · cell · stock · chair · stem

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stock — goods
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. degree — temperature
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stock — shares
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. degree — an amount

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