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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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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: tear · deal · hide · club · rock · degree

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — a group
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tear — from crying
  9. club — for dancing
  10. deal — to handle
  11. degree — an amount
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rock — music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rock — a stone

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