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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 116 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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — to recline
  3. march — the month
  4. band — a ring
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. cell — a phone
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. club — for dancing
  14. band — a music group
  15. cell — in biology
  16. club — a group
  17. pass — a permit
  18. march — music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pop — to visit
  23. club — for golf
  24. lie — an untruth

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