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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cold — an illness
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. rest — a break
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. spell — magic
  16. date — the fruit
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rest — what's left
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rest — what's left
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spell — letters
  24. degree — from a university

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