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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: firm · pound · stock · court · rule · degree

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rule — a law
  3. court — of a king
  4. firm — a company
  5. pound — a weight
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. court — of law
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — decided
  11. court — for sport
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stock — goods
  14. rule — government
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. rule — to rule out

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