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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: club · tear · degree · game · hide · bear

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bear — the animal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. tear — from crying
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for golf
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — temperature
  14. club — for dancing
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bear — the animal
  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