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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 · rule · calf · wake · degree · deal · cell · hand

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cell — in biology
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rule — government
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. deal — to handle
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. hand — help
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. stock — goods
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. calf — a young animal

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