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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: foot · degree · tear · leaves · vault · march

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — an amount
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. vault — a safe
  6. degree — temperature
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. march — the month
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. march — music
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. foot — a measure
  15. degree — from a university
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — from crying
  18. foot — the bottom

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