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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fall — to drop
  3. perch — the fish
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fall — the season
  7. land — a country
  8. file — a tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. lie — to recline
  11. degree — an amount
  12. land — ground
  13. firm — steady
  14. land — to come down
  15. file — a line of people
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fine — all right
  18. firm — decided
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. firm — a company
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. file — a document
  24. perch — for a bird

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