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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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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: patient · degree · bat · mark · jam · ground · stock · stem

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. degree — temperature
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ground — the earth
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stem — to come from
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. ground — a position
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. stock — shares
  23. mark — a grade
  24. stock — goods

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