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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rest — what's left
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lean — thin
  8. degree — temperature
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — an amount
  11. race — a contest
  12. bark — to shout
  13. lean — to bend
  14. rest — a break
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wound — an injury

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