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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: stand · bear · tear · degree · sharp · spring · hand · rest

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. spring — a coil
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rest — a break
  8. degree — temperature
  9. spring — of water
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rest — what's left
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spring — the season
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. rest — what's left
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. degree — from a university
  24. sharp — clever

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