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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 · board · racket · stock · march · cell

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. march — the month
  4. stock — shares
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stock — goods
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — to get on
  11. march — music
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — a phone
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — in biology

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