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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.

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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. wake — a trail
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mark — a grade
  10. degree — an amount
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mark — a trace
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. degree — temperature

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