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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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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: swing · rush · ground · mug · degree · tear · stand · season

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mug — a cup
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mug — to rob
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. mug — a face
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. ground — a position
  18. season — of the year
  19. ground — the earth
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. degree — from a university
  22. season — in sport
  23. stand — to bear
  24. degree — temperature

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