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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: tear · board · pitcher · object · perch · snap · bank · degree

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. tear — to rip
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. degree — an amount
  11. object — to protest
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. object — an aim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bank — for money
  21. object — a thing
  22. snap — to click
  23. degree — temperature
  24. perch — for a bird

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