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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. shower — to wash
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. shower — rain
  10. net — after costs
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. deal — to handle
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. face — to confront
  15. key — for a lock
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. degree — from a university
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pound — a weight
  21. key — the most important part
  22. degree — temperature
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. key — in music

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