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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: stock · game · degree · cell · bass · present · spell · lean

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stock — goods
  4. degree — an amount
  5. present — there
  6. game — a match
  7. present — a gift
  8. game — wild animals
  9. present — the time now
  10. spell — letters
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. stock — shares
  14. spell — a short time
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bass — the fish
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cell — a phone
  19. lean — thin
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bass — low music
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spell — magic

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