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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. ground — the earth
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pit — a hole
  5. degree — from a university
  6. deal — to handle
  7. face — part of the head
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pit — in a race
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. shower — to wash
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. face — to confront
  18. ground — crushed
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. ground — a position
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. face — to point toward
  24. shower — rain

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