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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. degree — an amount
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. cold — not warm
  12. drill — the tool
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. bore — to drill
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bore — to tire
  22. chair — a leader
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bound — tied together

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