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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tear — to rip
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. board — a committee
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. face — to confront
  15. wound — an injury
  16. snap — to click
  17. board — to get on
  18. tear — from crying

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