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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: spring · temple · degree · pound · land · cue · hand · stock

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — in cards
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stock — shares
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. hand — help
  11. cue — a signal
  12. land — ground
  13. cue — for pool
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. stock — goods
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cue — a hint
  24. temple — a place of worship

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