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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: bowl · tear · snap · track · lie · saw · degree · land

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. land — ground
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. lie — to recline
  7. snap — to click
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. tear — from crying
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. land — a country
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. track — to keep track
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. land — to come down
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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