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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cap — of ice
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cap — a hat
  16. tube — a container
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. cap — a lid
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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