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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: hide · field · tear · calf · coach · degree

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. 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. tear — from crying
  2. field — for sport
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. degree — from a university
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tear — from crying
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. 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