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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. rash — a series
  5. degree — an amount
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rash — hasty
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pop — soda
  20. face — to confront
  21. suit — clothes
  22. pop — music
  23. suit — in cards
  24. cabinet — ministers

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