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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tear · degree · mark · leaves · bay · season · current · file

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. season — of the year
  5. current — electric
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a line of people
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. degree — from a university
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. tear — to rip
  14. degree — temperature
  15. current — happening now
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. mark — a trace
  18. season — in sport
  19. mark — a grade
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. current — of water
  22. file — a tool
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. file — a document

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