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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rest — what's left
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rest — a break
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. object — an aim
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. object — a thing
  17. degree — temperature
  18. track — a song
  19. wound — an injury
  20. track — to keep track
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — from a university
  23. track — a path
  24. object — to protest

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