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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. face — to point toward
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. land — to come down
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. face — part of the head
  12. land — a country
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. face — to confront
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. saw — the tool
  18. date — the fruit
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wake — a trail
  21. land — ground
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. degree — an amount

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