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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. degree — an amount
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. face — to confront
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mine — for digging
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bound — certain
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bound — tied together
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cap — a hat
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wave — of the sea

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