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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: row · rock · chip · face · wind · patient · degree · stock

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rock — music
  5. row — a line
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. face — to confront
  9. rock — a stone
  10. face — part of the head
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wind — moving air
  16. row — to paddle
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. face — to point toward
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. stock — shares
  22. chip — to eat
  23. degree — from a university
  24. patient — a sick person

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