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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 120 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. degree — an amount
  7. can — a tin
  8. prune — to trim
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. prune — to trim
  13. can — a tin
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. drill — the tool
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. can — to be able to
  19. perch — the fish
  20. drill — a practice
  21. degree — from a university
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — in football
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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