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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rock — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. ground — a position
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rock — a stone
  19. snap — to click
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. tear — from crying
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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