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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. swing — music
  3. court — of law
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. degree — temperature
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. tear — to rip
  10. craft — a skill
  11. swing — to play on
  12. craft — boats
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. court — of a king
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. swing — in golf
  18. tear — from crying

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