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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. charge — in control
  10. ball — a great time
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. ball — a dance
  13. charge — electricity
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. degree — temperature
  16. scale — size or range
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. charge — a price
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wound — an injury
  23. scale — in music
  24. degree — an amount

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