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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 · toast · fine · pitch · bear · degree

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. pitch — completely
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fine — all right
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. fine — high quality
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bear — to put up with

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