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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. file — a document
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. face — to confront
  7. rest — what's left
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spring — a coil
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. branch — a division
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. court — for sport
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. degree — an amount
  19. file — a line of people
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rest — a break
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. file — a tool
  24. rest — what's left

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