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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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Word bank
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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: chair · degree · ruler · tear · season · ground

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. ground — a position
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. ground — crushed
  7. tear — from crying
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. season — in sport
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. tear — from crying
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ground — the earth
  18. season — of the year

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