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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bear — the animal
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. face — part of the head
  12. degree — temperature
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. capital — money
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. face — to confront
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. capital — a city
  23. degree — an amount
  24. kid — child

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