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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. capital — money
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. season — of the year
  5. tube — a container
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. tube — the underground
  10. lie — to recline
  11. capital — a city
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. season — in sport
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. kick — in football
  17. clip — a video
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stem — to come from
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. degree — from a university
  24. clip — to cut

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