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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. land — ground
  4. degree — from a university
  5. content — happy
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. tear — from crying
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. land — a country
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. content — the amount
  23. land — to come down
  24. mouse — the animal

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