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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 · pound · bat · degree · bark · game · tube · bound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. stock — shares
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stock — goods
  9. game — wild animals
  10. tube — a container
  11. degree — an amount
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bound — certain
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bound — tied together
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. game — a match
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bound — obliged

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