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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bank — for money
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bank — of a river
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. mate — a friend
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. degree — temperature
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bank — for money
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. mate — to breed

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