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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lean — thin
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. lean — to bend
  6. face — to confront
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — from a university
  11. snap — to click
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bat — the animal
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. foot — a measure
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pit — a hole

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