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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pop — to visit
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pop — soda
  5. lie — to recline
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. fine — all right
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. hand — in cards
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fine — high quality
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pop — music
  19. pitch — completely
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bat — the animal
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bat — for baseball

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