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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. prune — to trim
  3. face — to point toward
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. fall — to drop
  7. squash — the sport
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — of a king
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lie — to recline
  14. sharp — clever
  15. degree — temperature
  16. court — for sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. degree — from a university
  19. face — part of the head
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fall — the season
  22. face — to confront
  23. prune — to trim
  24. court — of law

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