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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: stick · board · stock · wave · capital · degree · rash · spring

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rash — hasty
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. board — to get on
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. capital — money
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. spring — of water
  17. capital — a city
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. board — a committee
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rash — a series

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