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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: degree · hide · game · rest · object · bound · spell · stock

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. stock — goods
  3. rest — a break
  4. bound — tied together
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. game — a match
  15. object — an aim
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. game — wild animals
  19. object — a thing
  20. stock — shares
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. object — to protest
  23. rest — what's left
  24. hide — to keep secret

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