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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · ground · row · degree · pit · racket

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. row — a line
  3. ground — crushed
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tear — to rip
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pit — a hole
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pit — in a race
  14. ground — a position
  15. row — to paddle
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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