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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. scale — in music
  5. degree — temperature
  6. can — a tin
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. pop — to visit
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cell — a phone
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. face — to point toward
  15. can — to be able to
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. degree — from a university
  19. scale — size or range
  20. hand — in cards
  21. can — a tin
  22. hand — help
  23. cell — in biology
  24. face — part of the head

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