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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rock — a stone
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. snap — to click
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. rock — music
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. deal — to handle
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. pitch — completely
  22. cell — in biology
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. degree — an amount

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