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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. degree — temperature
  3. race — a contest
  4. wound — an injury
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wound — an injury
  9. race — humankind
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. face — part of the head
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. degree — from a university
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. perch — the fish
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. charge — electricity
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. charge — a price
  23. face — to point toward
  24. charge — in control

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