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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. band — a music group
  3. can — a tin
  4. face — part of the head
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rule — a law
  8. can — a tin
  9. kid — child
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bore — to drill
  12. mark — a trace
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bore — to tire
  20. band — a ring
  21. mark — a grade
  22. rule — government
  23. kid — to tease
  24. face — to point toward

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