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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 ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bound — obliged
  7. degree — an amount
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. degree — temperature
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bound — tied together
  14. game — a match
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bound — certain
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. ground — the earth

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