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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: cap · key · season · suit · arm · bark · degree · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — a hat
  3. key — for a lock
  4. tear — from crying
  5. key — in music
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. key — the most important part
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. tear — to rip
  13. degree — from a university
  14. suit — clothes
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. season — of the year
  17. suit — to fit
  18. cap — a lid
  19. suit — in cards
  20. cap — of ice
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bark — to shout

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