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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. tear — from crying
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bound — certain
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bound — obliged
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. degree — an amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rest — a break
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bound — tied together
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rest — what's left
  24. degree — temperature

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