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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. ball — a dance
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ball — a great time
  14. lean — to bend
  15. degree — temperature
  16. date — the fruit
  17. lean — thin
  18. face — part of the head
  19. sharp — clever
  20. face — to confront
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. lean — to rest against

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