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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. fall — to drop
  3. degree — from a university
  4. race — humankind
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fall — the season
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. race — the arms race
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. clip — a video
  16. can — a tin
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. race — a contest
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bat — the animal

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