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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 116 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: row · stock · stick · clip · bowl · field · degree · straw

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. field — for sport
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. row — a line
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. field — farmland
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stock — goods
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. stock — shares
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. straw — a straw man

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