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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. bank — for money
  3. degree — from a university
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. squash — to crush
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bank — for money
  10. degree — an amount
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cold — an illness
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cap — of ice
  17. squash — the sport
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. face — to confront
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cap — a lid
  23. face — to point toward
  24. squash — the vegetable

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