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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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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 · stock · kick · hand · pound · bowl · cell · wave

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. hand — help
  5. degree — temperature
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. stock — goods
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. pound — a weight
  17. stock — shares
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wave — of the sea

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