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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: squash · cell · degree · stock · coach · pound · spring · wave

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. degree — temperature
  4. squash — to crush
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spring — the season
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stock — goods
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cell — a phone
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. spring — of water
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. stock — shares

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