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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mate — to breed
  4. drill — a practice
  5. mate — a friend
  6. degree — temperature
  7. face — to confront
  8. degree — an amount
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mate — a partner
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. scale — in music
  17. pit — in a race
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fine — all right
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. drill — army training
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fall — the season
  24. fine — a penalty

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