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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. dip — to sink
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. degree — from a university
  10. club — a group
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stand — to bear
  18. tear — from crying
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. tear — to rip
  22. degree — temperature
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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