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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bear — the animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. net — after costs
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rash — a series
  10. mate — a friend
  11. degree — from a university
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. net — for catching
  17. clip — a video
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — for paper
  23. net — in sport
  24. rash — hasty

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