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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. degree — temperature
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. content — the amount
  11. lie — to recline
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. scale — size or range
  14. face — to confront
  15. scale — in music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. face — to point toward
  18. object — an aim
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. face — part of the head
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. object — a thing
  24. degree — from a university

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