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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: stock · stand · mouse · degree · last · pound · plane · tube

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. last — finally
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. last — final
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stand — to bear
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. pound — a weight
  17. tube — a container
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. degree — from a university
  22. last — to go on
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. plane — a tool

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