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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. roll — a cake
  8. lie — to recline
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. mark — a trace
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mark — a grade
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kick — in football
  23. roll — a list
  24. degree — an amount

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