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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: capital · tear · wave · degree · mark · stock

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stock — shares
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mark — a grade
  7. stock — goods
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mark — a trace
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount

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