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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. present — a gift
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mate — a partner
  6. lean — thin
  7. present — the time now
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. mate — to breed
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mate — a friend
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. lean — to bend
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wax — to grow
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. present — there
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. hide — to keep secret

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