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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lie · charge · degree · bound · clip · saw · row · lash

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. clip — a video
  3. saw — the tool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. saw — the tool
  7. charge — in control
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bound — obliged
  15. row — a line
  16. charge — a price
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. clip — to cut
  22. row — to paddle
  23. charge — electricity
  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