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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. content — happy
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. tear — to rip
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. degree — temperature
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. dip — to sink
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pound — a weight
  22. content — the amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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