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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — for sport
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. court — of a king
  8. tube — a container
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bank — of a river
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. court — of law
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. rush — hurry
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bank — for money
  18. tear — to rip
  19. degree — temperature
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bank — for money
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. tear — from crying

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