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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. file — a tool
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. face — to point toward
  5. degree — from a university
  6. staff — a stick
  7. can — a tin
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bound — obliged
  10. can — a tin
  11. face — to confront
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bound — certain
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — an amount
  17. face — part of the head
  18. staff — employees
  19. can — to be able to
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bound — tied together
  24. staff — employees

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