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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. last — finally
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pit — in a race
  6. fine — high quality
  7. last — to go on
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tear — from crying
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fine — all right
  17. object — to protest
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — final
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. object — an aim
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. object — a thing
  24. bowl — a football final

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