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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: ruler · track · date · pop · degree · lie · bat · clip

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. track — a song
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pop — music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lie — to recline
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. clip — a video
  13. degree — from a university
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pop — to visit
  17. track — to keep track
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. track — a path
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. degree — temperature
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pop — soda

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