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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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 — to recline
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mate — a friend
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. kid — to tease
  8. scale — in music
  9. file — a tool
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mate — to breed
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kid — child
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. degree — temperature
  19. file — a document
  20. mate — a partner
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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