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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. spell — a short time
  3. degree — from a university
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — a lid
  6. degree — temperature
  7. toast — bread
  8. cap — a hat
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — letters
  13. tear — from crying
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cap — of ice
  16. perch — the fish
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. scale — in music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spell — magic
  24. degree — an amount

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