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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bound — tied together
  6. object — to protest
  7. ground — a position
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. object — a thing
  12. swing — in golf
  13. degree — an amount
  14. object — an aim
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pass — a permit
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. swing — music
  23. tear — to rip
  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