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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ruler · bark · net · stand · cold · stock · game · degree

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — an illness
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bark — to shout
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. cold — not warm
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stock — goods
  23. degree — an amount
  24. net — after costs

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