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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. degree — an amount
  3. land — to come down
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. degree — temperature
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wind — moving air
  10. face — to confront
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rock — a stone
  13. land — a country
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rock — music
  17. land — ground
  18. mouse — the animal

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