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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stem — to come from
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. fall — the season
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fall — to drop
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. shower — rain
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. degree — an amount
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. last — to go on
  22. fall — to drop
  23. prune — to trim
  24. degree — temperature

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