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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 · bay · row · club · degree · hide

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. club — a group
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. club — for dancing
  7. tear — from crying
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. club — for golf
  13. tear — to rip
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. degree — from a university
  18. hide — animal skin

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