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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. staff — employees
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. face — part of the head
  8. staff — employees
  9. band — a ring
  10. staff — a stick
  11. face — to confront
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cell — a phone
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. degree — an amount
  20. date — the fruit
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. degree — temperature

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