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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of law
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. tear — to rip
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mark — a trace
  15. degree — from a university
  16. court — of a king
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wind — moving air
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fall — the season
  23. degree — an amount
  24. court — for sport

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