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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. degree — an amount
  5. game — a match
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. swing — to play on
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. degree — from a university
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. swing — in golf
  16. roll — a list
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. roll — a cake
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. kid — child
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. degree — temperature
  24. swing — music

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