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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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. hand — part of the body
  4. club — for dancing
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. club — for golf
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. plane — a tool
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. squash — the sport
  14. ball — a dance
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. club — a group
  17. face — part of the head
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. ball — a great time
  22. squash — to crush
  23. face — to point toward
  24. degree — temperature

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