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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. degree — an amount
  4. row — to paddle
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. court — of law
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. lie — to recline
  10. fork — in a road
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. prune — to trim
  13. degree — temperature
  14. prune — to trim
  15. court — for sport
  16. press — a publisher
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. row — a line
  21. court — of a king
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fork — to eat with

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