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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. shower — rain
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spell — magic
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pop — soda
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. cell — a phone
  14. degree — temperature
  15. shower — to wash
  16. season — of the year
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spell — letters
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. season — in sport
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pop — music

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