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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cap — a hat
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. spell — magic
  10. cap — of ice
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. face — to point toward
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. spell — letters
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cap — a lid
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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