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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. face — to point toward
  3. degree — an amount
  4. march — the month
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bank — of a river
  9. kick — in football
  10. march — the month
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bank — for money
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. file — a tool
  16. march — music
  17. face — to confront
  18. lean — thin
  19. file — a document
  20. bank — for money
  21. face — part of the head
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. degree — from a university
  24. file — a line of people

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