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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · clip · degree · spring · rash · stock · fall · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. stock — shares
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. spring — the season
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mate — to breed
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stock — goods
  11. fall — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. clip — a video
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — to cut
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mate — a partner
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stock — a soup base

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