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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. degree — an amount
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. degree — from a university
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. bass — low music
  14. craft — boats
  15. hand — in cards
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bass — the fish
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hand — help
  24. craft — a skill

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