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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitch — completely
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — finally
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fall — the season
  14. ground — crushed
  15. kid — child
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. tear — from crying
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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