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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: stand · rock · temple · object · degree · craft · kid · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. object — a thing
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rock — music
  7. object — an aim
  8. kid — to tease
  9. craft — boats
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. object — to protest
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. kid — child
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rock — a stone
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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