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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
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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: pop · pound · degree · rule · stock · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rule — a law
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rule — government
  15. pop — soda
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pound — a weight

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