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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. suit — in cards
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. suit — to fit
  5. face — to point toward
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. face — to confront
  8. clip — to cut
  9. degree — from a university
  10. row — a line
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. degree — an amount
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. branch — a division
  17. suit — clothes
  18. degree — temperature
  19. row — to paddle
  20. clip — for paper
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. clip — a video
  24. branch — of a bank

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