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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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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: deal · cell · shower · nail · stock · mark · degree · hand

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. shower — rain
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cell — a phone
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. deal — to handle
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cell — in biology
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. degree — an amount
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stock — shares
  20. hand — help
  21. mark — a trace
  22. stock — goods
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. deal — a big deal

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