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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 120 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
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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: degree · pop · bowl · lie · clip · content · row · lean

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pop — music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lean — thin
  7. pop — to visit
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. clip — a video
  11. degree — temperature
  12. content — the amount
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. row — to paddle
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pop — soda

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