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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mark — a grade
  5. cap — a lid
  6. pop — soda
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pop — music
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pop — to visit
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cap — a hat
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mark — a trace
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bat — the animal
  23. face — part of the head
  24. degree — an amount

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