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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: tear · march · fork · hide · court · press · staff · degree

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. march — the month
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. degree — from a university
  9. court — of law
  10. tear — from crying
  11. staff — a stick
  12. press — a publisher
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. march — music
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. press — newspapers
  18. court — of a king
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. press — to push
  22. march — the month
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. court — for sport

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