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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: craft · cabinet · cold · squash · stock · wound · ruler · degree

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stock — shares
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. craft — boats
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. stock — goods
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. squash — the sport
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wound — an injury
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. degree — from a university
  20. squash — to crush
  21. craft — a skill
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stock — a soup base

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