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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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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 · jam · saw · tear · cell · season · craft · degree

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. tear — from crying
  4. deal — to handle
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. cell — a phone
  7. degree — temperature
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. season — of the year
  10. saw — the tool
  11. craft — a skill
  12. season — in sport
  13. cell — in biology
  14. craft — boats
  15. degree — from a university
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. tear — from crying
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. tear — to rip

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