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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: tear · calf · bear · arm · march · degree

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. tear — from crying
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bear — the animal
  8. degree — temperature
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. tear — to rip
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university

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