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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. object — an aim
  3. degree — from a university
  4. content — happy
  5. stand — to bear
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fall — to drop
  8. object — to protest
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — for golf
  11. content — the amount
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fall — the season
  15. clip — a video
  16. fall — to drop
  17. club — a group
  18. object — a thing
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. tear — from crying
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — to cut

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