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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. tear — to rip
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. degree — an amount
  20. ground — the earth
  21. row — a line
  22. bound — certain
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitcher — a jug

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