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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bound — certain
  3. rash — a series
  4. bat — the animal
  5. shower — rain
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. shower — to wash
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rash — hasty
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lie — to recline
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bound — tied together
  16. roll — a cake
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bound — obliged
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. roll — a list
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. face — to point toward

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