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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: bore · staff · mark · racket · season · wound · tear · degree

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mark — a trace
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. staff — employees
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mark — a grade
  10. staff — a stick
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tear — from crying
  19. season — in sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bore — to drill
  23. season — of the year
  24. degree — an amount

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