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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. band — a music group
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. face — to point toward
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. face — to confront
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. band — a ring
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. rest — what's left
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. lie — to recline

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