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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. face — to confront
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. degree — an amount
  8. face — part of the head
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. degree — temperature
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — music
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rock — a stone
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. face — to point toward
  21. dip — to sink
  22. chest — of your body
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. ruler — for measuring

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