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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — an amount
  5. face — to confront
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wind — moving air
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. degree — from a university
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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