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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. face — to confront
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spring — the season
  6. face — to point toward
  7. spring — of water
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mark — a grade
  15. face — part of the head
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mark — a trace
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. degree — from a university
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. spring — a coil

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