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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: degree · ball · tear · stock · snap · mug · cell · present

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. present — a gift
  3. tear — to rip
  4. ball — a dance
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mug — to rob
  7. cell — in biology
  8. stock — shares
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mug — a cup
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ball — a great time
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mug — a face
  18. stock — goods
  19. present — there
  20. tear — from crying
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. degree — temperature
  23. present — the time now
  24. cell — in a prison

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