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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: racket · ruler · hand · stock · cold · degree · lash · season

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — an illness
  8. season — of the year
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stock — goods
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. hand — help
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hand — in cards
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cold — not warm
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stock — shares
  22. degree — an amount
  23. season — in sport
  24. ruler — for measuring

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