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

Word bank: bound · fall · wind · craft · degree · bat · pitch · lie

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. bat — the animal
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bound — obliged
  9. fall — to drop
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fall — the season
  17. pitch — completely
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — certain
  24. bat — for baseball

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