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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — what's left
  5. object — to protest
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. march — music
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. foot — a measure
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — the month
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. perch — the fish
  22. object — an aim
  23. march — the month
  24. object — a thing

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