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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: patient · degree · trunk · stock · chair · fork · bulb · chest

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. chest — a box
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. degree — temperature
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. degree — an amount
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. trunk — of a tree

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