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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. degree — from a university
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. clip — to cut
  7. current — of water
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — temperature
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. clip — a video
  14. current — happening now
  15. degree — an amount
  16. face — part of the head
  17. clip — for paper
  18. current — electric
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. deal — to handle
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. face — to point toward
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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