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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: bear · tear · roll · firm · bat · lie · degree · saw

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. saw — the tool
  4. lie — to recline
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. firm — a company
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — an amount
  15. saw — the tool
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bat — the animal
  18. roll — a list
  19. firm — decided
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bear — the animal
  23. roll — a cake
  24. bear — the animal

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