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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 120 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 · bat · tear · drill · cell · stick

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cell — in biology
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. bat — the animal
  8. drill — army training
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. degree — an amount
  12. drill — a practice
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cell — a phone
  15. drill — the tool
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — in a prison

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