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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to confront
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. band — a ring
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. band — a music group
  10. last — finally
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cell — a phone
  13. last — to go on
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. march — the month
  17. tube — the underground
  18. last — final
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. march — the month
  22. face — to point toward
  23. march — music
  24. key — the most important part

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