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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. tear — from crying
  4. roll — a list
  5. roll — a cake
  6. dip — to sink
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. band — a music group
  9. tear — to rip
  10. kid — child
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bear — the animal
  17. degree — from a university
  18. band — a ring
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. degree — an amount
  24. roll — on a roll

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