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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 116 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: degree · shower · root · stock · bowl · wound · mine · fine

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. root — of a word
  7. fine — high quality
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. degree — temperature
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fine — all right
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stock — goods

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