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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: pitcher · march · last · cabinet · spring · stock · degree · rule

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. last — finally
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. rule — government
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. march — the month
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — to go on
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rule — a law
  14. spring — the season
  15. stock — goods
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — of water
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stock — shares
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. last — final

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