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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. rock — music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mine — for digging
  6. degree — temperature
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. stem — to come from
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. snap — to click
  13. rock — a stone
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. ground — crushed
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. degree — an amount
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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