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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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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: tear · bore · staff · degree · stick · season · hide · wound

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bore — to drill
  6. degree — temperature
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. tear — to rip
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. season — of the year
  20. staff — a stick
  21. tear — from crying
  22. degree — from a university
  23. staff — employees
  24. season — in 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