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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. tear — from crying
  3. face — part of the head
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. tear — from crying
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. key — for a lock
  13. face — to confront
  14. march — music
  15. date — the fruit
  16. degree — an amount
  17. key — the most important part
  18. degree — temperature
  19. key — in music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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