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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. scale — size or range
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. scale — in music
  10. court — of a king
  11. can — a tin
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. court — for sport
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cold — not warm
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. can — a tin
  22. court — of law
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. face — to confront

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