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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 116 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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. staff — a stick
  5. face — part of the head
  6. degree — from a university
  7. staff — employees
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pop — to visit
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pop — music
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. mug — a face
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mug — a cup
  17. file — a tool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pop — soda
  20. rest — a break
  21. face — to point toward
  22. staff — employees
  23. file — a document
  24. mug — to rob

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