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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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Word bank
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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: tear · degree · hand · face · roll · track · safe · lean

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lean — to bend
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. hand — in cards
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. degree — temperature
  7. tear — to rip
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. lean — thin
  10. roll — a list
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. face — part of the head
  14. roll — a cake
  15. face — to confront
  16. track — to keep track
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. track — a song
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. track — a path
  22. face — to point toward
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lean — to rest against

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