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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wind — moving air
  3. face — part of the head
  4. degree — from a university
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. face — to point toward
  8. degree — temperature
  9. file — a document
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bear — the animal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ball — a great time
  15. file — a tool
  16. face — to confront
  17. roll — a cake
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. degree — an amount
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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