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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: degree · fine · hand · fall · foot · tear · charge · cold

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. charge — electricity
  6. foot — a measure
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. hand — in cards
  11. tear — to rip
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. degree — from a university
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. degree — temperature
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. fall — to drop
  21. charge — in control
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fine — high quality
  24. charge — a price

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