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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. can — a tin
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tear — from crying
  4. degree — an amount
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. shower — rain
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wound — an injury
  9. craft — a skill
  10. degree — from a university
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a hat
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. craft — boats
  23. cap — a lid
  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