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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. board — a committee
  3. degree — temperature
  4. perch — the fish
  5. tear — to rip
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mug — a cup
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — for betting
  10. board — to get on
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. mug — a face
  13. degree — an amount
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mug — to rob
  21. file — a line of people
  22. tear — from crying
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. perch — for a bird

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