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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's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. degree — an amount
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. degree — from a university
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. saw — the tool
  9. snap — to click
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chest — a box
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. clip — a video
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chest — of your body

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