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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. pop — to visit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pop — music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pop — soda
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. foot — a measure
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bear — the animal
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. prune — to trim
  22. lie — to recline
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bear — the animal

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