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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — soda
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wind — moving air
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. pop — music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. degree — an amount
  22. lie — to recline
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wind — to turn a key

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