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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lie — to recline
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bat — the animal
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mug — a face
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bound — certain
  22. mug — a cup
  23. degree — temperature
  24. prune — the fruit

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