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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. spring — a coil
  7. degree — from a university
  8. last — final
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. face — to confront
  13. spring — of water
  14. scale — in music
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. pit — in a race
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pound — a weight
  22. face — part of the head
  23. track — to keep track
  24. degree — temperature

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