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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 120 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: degree · season · bank · ball · row · tear · cabinet · bass

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ball — a great time
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. tear — to rip
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. bass — low music
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. season — of the year
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bank — for money
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. season — in sport
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bass — the instrument

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