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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. spell — magic
  9. swing — to play on
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. degree — from a university
  12. march — the month
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spell — a short time
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. spell — letters
  17. tear — to rip
  18. swing — music
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — from crying
  21. march — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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