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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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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: cell · fork · net · lean · degree · snap · trunk · stock

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. snap — to click
  3. net — in sport
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stock — shares
  8. lean — thin
  9. degree — an amount
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cell — in biology
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fork — in a road
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. net — after costs
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. net — for catching
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. degree — from a university

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