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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. land — to come down
  5. band — a music group
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. land — a country
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. object — a thing
  11. game — a match
  12. band — a ring
  13. land — ground
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — hurry
  20. chair — a leader
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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