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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 124 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cap — a lid
  6. tear — from crying
  7. row — a line
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cap — a hat
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rule — a law
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rule — government
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. row — to paddle

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