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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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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: present · degree · rock · rash · lash · chest · tear · court

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rock — music
  4. rash — hasty
  5. court — of a king
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. tear — from crying
  8. present — a gift
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. degree — from a university
  11. present — the time now
  12. rash — a series
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rock — a stone
  15. present — there
  16. degree — an amount
  17. court — for sport
  18. chest — a box
  19. court — of law
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rash — on the skin

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