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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · degree · cue · season · face · tear · craft · trunk

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. season — of the year
  3. craft — boats
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. degree — temperature
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cue — a signal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cue — for pool
  10. craft — a skill
  11. tear — to rip
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. object — a thing
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cue — a hint
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. season — in sport
  21. object — an aim
  22. face — part of the head
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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