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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. face — to confront
  5. shower — rain
  6. degree — temperature
  7. shower — to wash
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitch — completely
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pit — a hole
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. game — a match
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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