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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
468
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 · mug · stock · scale · cold · stem · chest · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. stock — goods
  3. pit — in a race
  4. chest — a box
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cold — an illness
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — to rob
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. stock — shares
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mug — a cup
  22. pit — a hole
  23. stem — to come from
  24. chest — of your body

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