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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 116 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: craft · degree · tear · hide · straw · shower · season · bay

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. season — of the year
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. craft — a skill
  5. degree — an amount
  6. season — in sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. shower — to wash
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. degree — temperature
  15. craft — boats
  16. degree — from a university
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. tear — from crying

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