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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.

Make a worksheet

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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. spring — the season
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spring — a coil
  14. hand — help
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. spring — of water
  17. face — to confront
  18. degree — from a university
  19. face — to point toward
  20. foot — a measure
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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