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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. degree — temperature
  3. vault — a safe
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. clip — a video
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. file — a tool
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. face — to point toward
  20. degree — an amount
  21. file — a document
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. face — part of the head

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