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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — an amount
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. degree — temperature
  6. net — in sport
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. spring — the season
  9. net — for catching
  10. staff — employees
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bear — the animal
  13. lie — to recline
  14. shower — to wash
  15. staff — a stick
  16. shower — rain
  17. staff — employees
  18. net — after costs
  19. degree — from a university
  20. spring — of water
  21. season — of the year
  22. bear — the animal
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in sport

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