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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. pop — to visit
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. row — a line
  4. degree — temperature
  5. net — after costs
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. current — electric
  9. current — happening now
  10. degree — from a university
  11. row — to paddle
  12. current — of water
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. prune — to trim
  16. net — for catching
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. net — in sport
  20. lie — to recline
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fall — to drop
  23. prune — the fruit
  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