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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — a position
  4. present — the time now
  5. tear — from crying
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. present — there
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. degree — an amount
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. tear — to rip
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. present — a gift

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