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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 120 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: degree · patient · band · tear · racket · mouse

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. band — a music group
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — from a university
  16. band — a ring
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — from crying

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