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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bat — the animal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. degree — an amount
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bark — to shout
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. mug — a cup
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. face — to confront
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mug — to rob
  23. face — to point toward
  24. lie — to recline

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