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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. snap — to click
  4. degree — temperature
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. band — a music group
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. court — of a king
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. prune — to trim
  13. court — of law
  14. prune — to trim
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. degree — from a university
  17. firm — decided
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lie — to recline
  20. degree — an amount
  21. band — a ring
  22. firm — a company
  23. firm — steady
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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