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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — a position
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fine — high quality
  11. court — of law
  12. ground — the earth
  13. degree — from a university
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. tear — from crying
  16. court — of a king
  17. fine — all right
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bass — low music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. ground — crushed
  24. court — for sport

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