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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: mine · degree · face · ground · patient · date · bore · stock

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. ground — the earth
  3. face — to confront
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mine — for digging
  6. degree — an amount
  7. face — to point toward
  8. degree — temperature
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stock — shares
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. ground — a position
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bore — to tire
  17. date — the fruit
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. ground — crushed
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bore — to drill
  23. degree — from a university
  24. date — on the calendar

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