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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 116 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: can · capital · row · stock · lean · spring · degree · race

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. lean — to rest against
  2. degree — temperature
  3. stock — shares
  4. spring — the season
  5. capital — money
  6. spring — of water
  7. row — a line
  8. can — a tin
  9. race — a contest
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — a city
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. can — a tin
  15. stock — goods
  16. lean — to bend
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. row — to paddle
  19. can — to be able to
  20. lean — thin
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. spring — a coil
  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