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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 120 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: swing · rock · stock · root · last · patient · cell · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stock — goods
  3. swing — music
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. last — final
  6. stock — shares
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. root — the cause
  9. cell — in biology
  10. swing — to play on
  11. rock — a stone
  12. last — finally
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. cell — a phone
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. degree — an amount
  20. swing — in golf
  21. root — of a word
  22. degree — from a university
  23. last — to go on
  24. patient — a sick person

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