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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: wound · stock · degree · press · rule · shower

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. shower — rain
  3. press — newspapers
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stock — goods
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rule — government
  8. wound — an injury
  9. press — a publisher
  10. rule — a law
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. stock — shares
  15. press — to push
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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