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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 120 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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. plane — a tool
  10. content — happy
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — to point toward
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. vault — a safe
  16. capital — money
  17. face — part of the head
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. pound — a weight
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — an amount
  24. plane — an aircraft

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