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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. firm — a company
  5. last — final
  6. firm — steady
  7. tear — from crying
  8. last — to go on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. firm — decided
  11. court — of law
  12. game — a match
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. band — a music group
  16. degree — an amount
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. court — for sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. court — of a king
  21. degree — from a university
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. game — wild animals
  24. degree — temperature

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