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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: mark · hide · stock · sharp · tear · capital · shower · degree

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. capital — a city
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stock — shares
  9. capital — money
  10. mark — a grade
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — rain
  14. degree — an amount
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a trace
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stock — goods
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — from a university
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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