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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. clip — for paper
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. face — to point toward
  7. degree — from a university
  8. face — part of the head
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — of water
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — the season
  15. face — to confront
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — a coil
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. coach — a trainer

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