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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 116 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 · fall · squash · content · ruler · swing · degree · kick

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. content — the amount
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. degree — temperature
  9. swing — music
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — happy
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. fall — the season
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. degree — from a university
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. kick — in football
  24. squash — to crush

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