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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. face — to point toward
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spring — of water
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — temperature
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. spring — the season
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — of your body
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. tube — a container
  14. last — finally
  15. chest — of your body
  16. degree — an amount
  17. face — to confront
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. spring — a coil
  20. tube — the underground
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. prune — to trim
  23. last — to go on
  24. chest — a box

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