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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 116 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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — an amount
  6. face — part of the head
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ground — a position
  12. degree — temperature
  13. last — final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. ground — the earth
  19. last — to go on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. face — to confront
  23. last — finally
  24. fork — in a road

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