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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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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: straw · snap · fall · degree · coach · ground · prune · stock

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stock — shares
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stock — goods
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fall — to drop
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ground — the earth
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. stock — a soup base

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