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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. last — finally
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pound — a weight
  14. march — the month
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. last — to go on
  18. march — music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. tear — to rip
  21. march — the month
  22. last — final
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. lie — to recline

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