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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. tear — to rip
  6. degree — from a university
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. rule — a law
  9. bear — the animal
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. rule — government
  17. kick — in football
  18. tear — from crying
  19. degree — temperature
  20. prune — to trim
  21. club — a group
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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