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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. degree — from a university
  3. face — part of the head
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. can — a tin
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — an amount
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. can — to be able to
  13. chip — for betting
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. face — to point toward

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