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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 116 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. dip — to sink
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. degree — from a university
  14. face — part of the head
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bore — to tire
  24. dip — a sauce

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