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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. kid — child
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. can — a tin
  9. wake — a trail
  10. face — to confront
  11. degree — temperature
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. kid — to tease
  14. face — part of the head
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. squash — to crush
  19. clip — for paper
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. squash — the sport

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