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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. board — a committee
  3. lean — to bend
  4. key — for a lock
  5. face — to confront
  6. game — wild animals
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. key — the most important part
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. face — part of the head
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. game — a match
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. face — to point toward
  20. board — to get on
  21. degree — temperature
  22. key — in music
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lean — thin

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