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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — thin
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. fall — to drop
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. degree — temperature
  11. face — to confront
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. band — a ring
  16. net — in sport
  17. face — to point toward
  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