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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: season · drill · shower · can · degree · net · stock · capital

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. season — in sport
  3. stock — shares
  4. net — for catching
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stock — goods
  7. drill — the tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. capital — a city
  11. can — a tin
  12. capital — money
  13. drill — a practice
  14. can — a tin
  15. net — after costs
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. can — to be able to
  19. drill — army training
  20. season — of the year
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. net — in sport
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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