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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. drill — army training
  5. pound — a weight
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. degree — temperature
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. drill — a practice
  14. craft — boats
  15. drill — the tool
  16. clip — a video
  17. craft — a skill
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pound — to hit hard

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