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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.

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: object · bulb · bat · fine · degree · tear · band · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. fine — high quality
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lean — to bend
  5. band — a music group
  6. object — to protest
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. degree — temperature
  10. tear — to rip
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. band — a ring
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. object — an aim
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. fine — all right
  24. object — a thing

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