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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. degree — an amount
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. ground — crushed
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. ground — the earth
  9. degree — from a university
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ground — a position
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. squash — the sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wound — an injury
  18. degree — temperature
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. wound — an injury
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. squash — to crush
  24. racket — for tennis

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