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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — from a university
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. degree — temperature
  11. land — a country
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — a permit
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mate — a partner
  17. lie — to recline
  18. sharp — clever
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. degree — an amount

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