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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ground — a position
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rest — what's left
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — the sport
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rest — a break
  14. last — final
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rest — what's left
  24. degree — from a university

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