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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. ball — a great time
  7. degree — temperature
  8. shower — to wash
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. shower — rain
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. stand — to bear
  14. ball — a dance
  15. field — farmland
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. tear — from crying
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. tear — to rip
  20. capital — a city
  21. degree — from a university
  22. field — for sport
  23. bore — to drill
  24. field — a subject

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