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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. plane — a tool
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. land — ground
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. band — a music group
  18. tear — from crying
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. band — a ring
  21. degree — an amount
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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