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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.

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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: ground · wound · degree · squash · stock · bay · snap · bark

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. squash — the sport
  3. ground — a position
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. ground — crushed
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. snap — to click
  16. degree — an amount
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stock — goods
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. stock — shares
  23. bark — to shout
  24. degree — from a university

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