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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. face — part of the head
  3. degree — an amount
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bound — certain
  8. cold — an illness
  9. face — to point toward
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. firm — a company
  13. bass — the fish
  14. firm — steady
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cold — not warm
  19. firm — decided
  20. face — to confront
  21. bass — low music
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. lash — an eyelash

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