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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 120 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: degree · chair · ground · spring · squash · content · rush · stock

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ground — the earth
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. spring — the season
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ground — a position
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. content — happy
  12. stock — goods
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. squash — the sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ground — crushed
  20. chair — a leader
  21. spring — of water
  22. content — the amount
  23. stock — shares
  24. rush — hurry

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