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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: firm · tear · hand · tube · lie · patient · bowl · degree

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tube — the underground
  9. firm — a company
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. firm — decided
  12. hand — help
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tube — a container
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. firm — steady
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bowl — a football final

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