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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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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: pit · wound · bay · degree · game · wave · chair · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — temperature
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. degree — from a university
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. game — a match
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. game — wild animals
  24. chair — to sit on

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