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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rest — what's left
  4. spring — the season
  5. cap — of ice
  6. face — to point toward
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rest — what's left
  9. degree — from a university
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rest — a break
  12. spring — a coil
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lie — to recline
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. cap — a hat
  22. spring — of water
  23. mine — for digging
  24. hide — to keep secret

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