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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.

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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. snap — to click
  3. lie — to recline
  4. present — a gift
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. present — there
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. degree — temperature
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tube — a container
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. present — the time now
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. spell — letters
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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