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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 120 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. lie — to recline
  3. fine — all right
  4. branch — a division
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fine — high quality
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — an amount
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. rush — hurry
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. band — a ring
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. degree — temperature
  24. band — a music group

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