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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: rush · ruler · clip · band · mate · fall · lie · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mate — a friend
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. clip — for paper
  8. band — a ring
  9. clip — a video
  10. rush — hurry
  11. mate — a partner
  12. fall — to drop
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a music group
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. degree — an amount
  21. fall — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mate — to breed

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