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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: lie · object · mark · present · rest · degree · race · clip

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. rest — a break
  3. object — to protest
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mark — a trace
  6. object — a thing
  7. race — humankind
  8. degree — temperature
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — a grade
  11. object — an aim
  12. clip — for paper
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. rest — what's left
  19. present — the time now
  20. lie — to recline
  21. clip — a video
  22. present — a gift
  23. race — a contest
  24. mark — to pay attention

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