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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: land · spell · stock · degree · straw · mine

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. land — to come down
  4. stock — shares
  5. spell — a short time
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. land — a country
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. stock — goods
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. land — ground

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