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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 · degree · nail · date · capital · rule · wake · mate

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rule — government
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. capital — a city
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. wake — a trail
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stock — goods
  19. mate — to breed
  20. date — the fruit
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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