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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. ball — a great time
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cue — for pool
  6. spring — of water
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bore — to drill
  9. spring — the season
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cue — a signal
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. degree — an amount
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cue — a hint
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. branch — a division
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. tear — from crying
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  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