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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 120 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: stock · wound · dip · court · degree · spell · kick · mark

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wound — an injury
  4. court — of a king
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. kick — in football
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stock — goods
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. spell — letters
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. dip — to sink
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. spell — magic

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