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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. rest — what's left
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — a weight
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — for paper
  24. degree — temperature

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