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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. object — a thing
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pop — soda
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pop — to visit
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. object — an aim
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pop — music
  20. pit — a hole
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pit — in a race
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. stem — to come from

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