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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: court · capital · stand · hide · stock · object · degree · pop

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. object — a thing
  3. stock — goods
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. capital — money
  6. pop — music
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. capital — a city
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. court — of a king
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. court — of law
  16. object — to protest
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. stock — shares
  19. degree — an amount
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pop — soda
  22. court — for sport
  23. object — an aim
  24. pop — to visit

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