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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rock — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. capital — a city
  6. march — the month
  7. cue — a signal
  8. capital — money
  9. degree — an amount
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rock — a stone
  13. tear — from crying
  14. march — music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. march — the month
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cue — for pool
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. tear — from crying
  22. season — of the year
  23. cue — a hint
  24. rock — to move gently

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