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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · arm · drill · fine · lie · perch · row · degree

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. degree — from a university
  3. drill — a practice
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. row — a line
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — high quality
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. row — to paddle
  19. drill — the tool
  20. clip — a video
  21. lie — to recline
  22. degree — temperature
  23. drill — army training
  24. clip — to cut

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