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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. game — wild animals
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cap — of ice
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cap — a lid
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. game — a match
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stem — a stem cell

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