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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mate — a partner
  4. branch — a division
  5. mate — to breed
  6. face — to point toward
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. dip — to sink
  11. lie — to recline
  12. game — a match
  13. face — to confront
  14. game — wild animals
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mate — a friend
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. file — a line of people
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. degree — an amount
  22. file — a document
  23. degree — from a university
  24. dip — a sauce

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