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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. degree — temperature
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. capital — a city
  5. court — of a king
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. shower — rain
  8. tear — from crying
  9. field — for sport
  10. degree — from a university
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. court — for sport
  13. degree — an amount
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. shower — to wash
  18. field — a subject
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tear — from crying
  21. court — of law
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. field — farmland
  24. capital — money

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