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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. can — to be able to
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. can — a tin
  8. deal — to handle
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fall — to drop
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. vault — a safe
  17. can — a tin
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. face — to confront
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. degree — from a university
  22. clip — a video
  23. face — to point toward
  24. deal — an agreement

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