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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 · degree · kick · saw · foot · hide

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. foot — a measure
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. saw — the tool
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — an amount
  12. tear — to rip
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. kick — in football

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