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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bound — tied together
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. fine — all right
  6. tube — a container
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bat — the animal
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bound — certain
  12. staff — employees
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bound — obliged
  15. fine — high quality
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. tube — the underground
  18. staff — employees
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — from a university
  24. face — part of the head

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