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

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rest — a break
  8. degree — temperature
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cold — not warm
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — an amount
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. face — part of the head

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