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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. key — in music
  5. degree — an amount
  6. key — for a lock
  7. net — for catching
  8. hand — in cards
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wax — to grow
  11. net — after costs
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. hand — help
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. chip — to eat
  19. face — part of the head
  20. net — in sport
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chip — for betting
  24. hide — animal skin

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