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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tear — from crying
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. dip — to sink
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. race — humankind
  9. tear — to rip
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pound — a weight
  16. tear — from crying
  17. race — a contest
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. race — the arms race
  23. stand — to bear
  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