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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. face — to confront
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pitch — completely
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — an amount
  10. can — to be able to
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — to wash
  15. root — of a plant
  16. face — part of the head
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. face — to point toward
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. can — a tin
  24. pitch — a sports field

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