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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. degree — an amount
  4. face — to confront
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. staff — a stick
  7. face — part of the head
  8. staff — employees
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. snap — to click
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wound — an injury
  17. staff — employees
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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