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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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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: wound · tear · mark · degree · racket · mate

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mate — to breed
  3. tear — from crying
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. degree — an amount
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mark — a grade
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mate — a friend
  15. degree — from a university
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mark — a trace
  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