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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mug — a face
  4. fall — the season
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. face — part of the head
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. deal — to handle
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — from a university
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. wax — to grow

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