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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. degree — temperature
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. deal — to handle
  6. scale — in music
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. degree — an amount
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. march — the month
  14. degree — from a university
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. scale — size or range
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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