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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. face — to point toward
  5. net — after costs
  6. mate — a partner
  7. degree — from a university
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. mate — to breed
  10. deal — to handle
  11. net — for catching
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. fork — in a road
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mate — a friend
  21. tear — from crying
  22. net — in sport
  23. tear — to rip
  24. face — part of the head

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