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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: kid · nail · stock · fan · degree · bat · pound · season

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pound — a weight
  3. season — of the year
  4. stock — goods
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. kid — child
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stock — shares
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kid — to tease
  21. season — in sport
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. nail — on a finger

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