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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. degree — from a university
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. deal — to handle
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. face — to point toward
  12. vault — a safe
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. kid — child
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. face — part of the head
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. degree — an amount
  24. foot — a measure

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