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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. degree — an amount
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. field — for sport
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — from a university
  17. kick — in football
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. tear — from crying
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — a phone

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