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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. track — a song
  14. cold — an illness
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bound — obliged
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. track — a path
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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