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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mark — a trace
  5. face — to confront
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — magic
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. last — finally
  18. deal — to handle
  19. spell — a short time
  20. face — part of the head
  21. degree — from a university
  22. last — final
  23. mark — a grade
  24. face — to point toward

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