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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. mate — to breed
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ground — the earth
  6. root — of a word
  7. mate — a partner
  8. squash — to crush
  9. root — the cause
  10. degree — temperature
  11. ground — a position
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mate — a friend
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. march — the month
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. squash — the sport
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. root — of a plant
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ground — crushed
  24. squash — the vegetable

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