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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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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: cell · season · leaves · shower · degree · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. season — in sport
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cell — a phone
  9. tear — to rip
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. shower — to wash
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cell — in biology

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