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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
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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: ruler · ball · stock · press · degree · court · roll · squash

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. squash — to crush
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. roll — a cake
  6. stock — goods
  7. court — of a king
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. ball — a dance
  10. press — newspapers
  11. ball — a great time
  12. press — a publisher
  13. degree — an amount
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. stock — shares
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. squash — the sport
  21. court — of law
  22. roll — a list
  23. degree — from a university
  24. court — for sport

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