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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: land · degree · straw · fork · stem · stock · spring · perch

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. land — to come down
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stock — shares
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. degree — from a university
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — a coil
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. stock — goods
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. degree — temperature
  20. land — ground
  21. spring — the season
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. spring — of water
  24. land — a country

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