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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: bore · degree · stem · pop · chip · perch · firm · stock

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. degree — temperature
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. firm — decided
  5. stock — shares
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stock — goods
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. perch — the fish
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bore — to tire
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. firm — a company
  19. bore — to drill
  20. firm — steady
  21. pop — to visit
  22. chip — for betting
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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