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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 120 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. face — to confront
  3. bore — to drill
  4. rash — hasty
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — a tin
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. degree — an amount
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bore — to tire
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. march — music
  15. face — part of the head
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rash — a series
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. face — to point toward
  20. can — to be able to
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. march — the month
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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