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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 116 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: deal · lean · calf · degree · tear · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lean — to bend
  8. tear — from crying
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. lean — thin
  12. tear — to rip
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. degree — from a university
  15. deal — to handle
  16. tear — from crying
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. degree — an amount

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