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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bass — the fish
  8. cue — for pool
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bass — low music
  13. mark — a trace
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — to rip
  16. field — for sport
  17. degree — temperature
  18. field — farmland
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cue — a signal
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mark — a grade
  24. field — a subject

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