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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 120 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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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. chest — a box
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kid — child
  6. race — humankind
  7. tear — to rip
  8. race — the arms race
  9. object — an aim
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. object — to protest
  18. rock — music
  19. object — a thing
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — to tease
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. chest — of your body

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