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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — to confront
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. face — to point toward
  7. kid — to tease
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. face — part of the head
  12. chest — a box
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pit — a hole
  22. kid — child
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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