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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 · toast · staff · degree · pitcher · club · hide · wound

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. degree — temperature
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. club — for dancing
  5. tear — to rip
  6. staff — a stick
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. club — for golf
  11. tear — from crying
  12. club — a group
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wound — an injury
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. tear — from crying
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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