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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: can · degree · cold · row · present · season · chip · stock

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. row — to paddle
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stock — goods
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chip — to eat
  9. present — the time now
  10. stock — shares
  11. cold — not warm
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. degree — an amount
  15. present — there
  16. can — to be able to
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. can — a tin
  22. chip — for betting
  23. present — a gift
  24. row — a quarrel

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