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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: squash · game · stand · degree · bat · stock · rule · cold

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stock — shares
  7. degree — temperature
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. cold — not warm
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rule — a law
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stock — goods
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. game — a match

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