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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: stick · mate · face · march · wound · bay · dip · degree

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mate — a partner
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. face — to confront
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. march — the month
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. march — the month
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wound — an injury
  21. face — part of the head
  22. march — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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