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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. hand — help
  4. degree — from a university
  5. hand — in cards
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. club — for golf
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rush — hurry
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. shower — rain
  20. row — a line
  21. club — for dancing
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. lie — to recline

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