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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: pass · stock · bulb · branch · degree · snap · cell · mine

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stock — goods
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cell — in biology
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cell — a phone
  12. branch — a division
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. stock — shares
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mine — for digging
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bulb — for light
  22. snap — to click
  23. pass — a permit
  24. branch — of a bank

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