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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.

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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: degree · bound · can · stock · season · hand · ground · fork

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. hand — help
  3. can — a tin
  4. stock — shares
  5. bound — obliged
  6. degree — temperature
  7. season — of the year
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. can — to be able to
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. ground — a position
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bound — tied together
  15. season — in sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. can — a tin
  18. fork — in a road
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. bound — certain
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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