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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. firm — decided
  3. pop — music
  4. firm — steady
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a document
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. firm — a company
  9. degree — from a university
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. degree — an amount
  16. march — music
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pop — to visit
  19. file — a tool
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. march — the month
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pop — soda

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