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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: degree · chest · lie · fall · ruler · wound · bore · club

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lie — to recline
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fall — to drop
  12. club — for dancing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chest — a box
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. club — a group
  20. fall — the season
  21. club — for golf
  22. bore — to tire
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ruler — for measuring

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