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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: stock · degree · hide · staff · bat · ruler

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. staff — employees
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. staff — a stick
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. degree — temperature
  13. staff — employees
  14. bat — the animal
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ruler — for measuring

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