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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 · degree · spring · ball · rash · rule · suit · trunk

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. stock — goods
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rash — hasty
  10. suit — in cards
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. suit — to fit
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. ball — a dance
  15. spring — the season
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. degree — temperature
  19. suit — clothes
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — a law
  22. rash — a series
  23. stock — shares
  24. rule — government

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