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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — in sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cue — a signal
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cue — a hint
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. net — for catching
  16. dip — to sink
  17. march — music
  18. degree — from a university
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cue — for pool
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. ruler — for measuring

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