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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. court — for sport
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. face — to point toward
  11. lean — to bend
  12. court — of law
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. face — to confront
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. spring — the season
  17. degree — from a university
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lean — thin
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. court — of a king
  24. face — part of the head

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