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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spell — a short time
  4. tear — to rip
  5. firm — decided
  6. degree — an amount
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — the most important part
  13. spell — magic
  14. degree — temperature
  15. firm — a company
  16. band — a ring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. firm — steady
  19. key — in music
  20. degree — from a university
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lie — to recline
  24. game — a match

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