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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. face — to confront
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pit — in a race
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pit — a hole
  23. degree — temperature
  24. tear — from crying

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