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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: mug · date · fine · tear · bay · hand · degree · fall

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. degree — from a university
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — help
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. mug — to rob
  8. hand — in cards
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — temperature
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mug — a cup
  13. date — the fruit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. hand — part of the body

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