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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 · club · stick · foot · wound · degree

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — an injury
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. club — for golf
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. club — a group
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — an amount
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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