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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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. chest — of your body
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wax — to grow
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. chest — of your body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chest — a box
  18. degree — an amount
  19. tube — a container
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. face — part of the head
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. tube — the underground
  24. perch — for a bird

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