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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: degree · stock · root · lash · patient · arm · mouse · cell

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. stock — goods
  6. cell — a phone
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — of a word
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. degree — temperature
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a plant
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cell — in biology

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