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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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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. tear — from crying
  4. can — to be able to
  5. firm — a company
  6. hand — help
  7. firm — steady
  8. mate — a partner
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. firm — decided
  15. mate — to breed
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bark — to shout
  20. tear — to rip
  21. degree — temperature
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. degree — an amount
  24. hand — in cards

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