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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. row — a line
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. key — the most important part
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. track — a path
  14. dip — to sink
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. kid — to tease
  17. track — to keep track
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. row — to paddle
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. kid — child
  24. track — a song

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