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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.

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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. pitch — completely
  3. plane — a tool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. squash — the sport
  14. face — to confront
  15. squash — to crush
  16. sharp — clever
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. degree — an amount
  19. lie — to recline
  20. content — happy
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. degree — temperature
  24. content — the amount

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