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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: lean · bat · tube · degree · tear · sharp · cue · season

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cue — a hint
  3. degree — from a university
  4. season — of the year
  5. sharp — clever
  6. tear — to rip
  7. season — in sport
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cue — a signal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. tube — a container
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. degree — temperature
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — thin
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. degree — an amount
  24. tube — in a tire

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