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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rock — a stone
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tear — from crying
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. charge — electricity
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. degree — from a university
  13. charge — in control
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rock — music

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