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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. cell — in biology
  3. lie — to recline
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. drill — army training
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hand — in cards
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hand — help
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. pass — a permit
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. season — of the year
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. season — in sport
  24. pass — to spend time

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