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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · march · current · degree · stem · squash · tear · kick

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. march — the month
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. degree — an amount
  13. current — of water
  14. degree — from a university
  15. current — happening now
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. current — electric
  19. stem — to come from
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tear — to rip
  22. squash — to crush
  23. march — music
  24. kick — in football

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