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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. last — to go on
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. face — to point toward
  6. degree — an amount
  7. last — finally
  8. mug — a face
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bat — the animal
  12. last — final
  13. net — after costs
  14. rush — hurry
  15. net — in sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. face — part of the head
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mug — a cup
  23. face — to confront
  24. net — for catching

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