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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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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 · stock · spring · saw · temple · arm · track · clip

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. saw — the tool
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — for paper
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. spring — the season
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. stock — shares
  13. saw — the tool
  14. track — a path
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stock — goods
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spring — of water
  22. clip — a video
  23. degree — from a university
  24. arm — part of the 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