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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. court — of a king
  3. firm — decided
  4. degree — temperature
  5. dip — to sink
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. firm — a company
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cold — an illness
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. tear — from crying
  12. court — for sport
  13. rush — hurry
  14. court — of law
  15. degree — from a university
  16. tear — to rip
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. degree — an amount
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. firm — steady

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