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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: bore · mark · sharp · stock · degree · tear · cell · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bore — to drill
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — goods
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bore — to tire
  15. tear — from crying
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mark — a grade
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stock — shares

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