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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lie — to recline
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mate — a partner
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. field — a subject
  9. chip — to eat
  10. degree — an amount
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. field — farmland
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chip — for betting
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. field — for sport
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. degree — from a university

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