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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · rule · track · face · snap · degree

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rule — a law
  4. degree — temperature
  5. track — a song
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. snap — to click
  12. cell — a phone
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. face — to confront
  16. degree — an amount
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head

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