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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. pop — soda
  3. can — to be able to
  4. firm — steady
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. face — part of the head
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — decided
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pop — to visit
  11. can — a tin
  12. hand — in cards
  13. degree — from a university
  14. face — to point toward
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pop — music
  19. can — a tin
  20. degree — an amount
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. face — to confront
  23. ruler — a monarch
  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