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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. degree — temperature
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. degree — an amount
  14. face — part of the head
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. face — to confront
  24. wind — moving air

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