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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spell — a short time
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. present — a gift
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — temperature
  8. charge — a price
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. charge — in control
  12. present — the time now
  13. charge — electricity
  14. present — there
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. tear — to rip
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. spell — magic
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spell — letters

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