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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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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: stem · court · nail · straw · stock · snap · degree · ground

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. ground — the earth
  3. snap — to click
  4. degree — temperature
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. court — for sport
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. court — of law
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. stem — to come from
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ground — crushed
  17. court — of a king
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. ground — a position
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stock — shares

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