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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — steady
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — to keep track
  7. cold — an illness
  8. track — a path
  9. spell — magic
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fall — to drop
  12. face — part of the head
  13. spell — letters
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fall — the season
  16. face — to point toward
  17. track — a song
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. firm — a company
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. face — to confront

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