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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bank — of a river
  6. spell — letters
  7. board — a committee
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spell — magic
  10. bat — the animal
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tear — from crying
  19. board — to get on
  20. spell — a short time
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — for money
  24. tear — to rip

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