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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. sharp — clever
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. firm — steady
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tube — the underground
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tube — a container
  12. firm — decided
  13. degree — temperature
  14. saw — the tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. face — to point toward
  17. degree — an amount
  18. firm — a company
  19. perch — the fish
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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