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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 116 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: degree · chair · tear · squash · rock · deal

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. deal — to handle
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — from a university
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. tear — from crying
  11. degree — an amount
  12. squash — the sport
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chair — a leader
  15. degree — temperature
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. rock — music

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