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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. game — a match
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bound — tied together
  13. stand — to bear
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. degree — an amount
  18. perch — the fish
  19. game — wild animals
  20. lie — to recline
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bound — certain

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