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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. pop — soda
  5. face — to confront
  6. pop — to visit
  7. board — to get on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. face — part of the head
  10. degree — from a university
  11. club — for dancing
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. face — to point toward
  14. club — for golf
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — rain
  20. club — a group
  21. saw — the tool
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. degree — temperature
  24. board — a committee

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