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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ground — the earth
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. chair — a leader
  7. degree — from a university
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. tear — to rip
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. row — to paddle
  17. land — a country
  18. ground — a position
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. lie — to recline
  23. ground — crushed
  24. chair — a professorship

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