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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · degree · swing · mouse · staff · scale · bound · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. staff — employees
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bound — certain
  5. spring — the season
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bound — obliged
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. staff — a stick
  11. spring — of water
  12. swing — in golf
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. spring — a coil
  16. degree — from a university
  17. face — to point toward
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. staff — employees
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bound — tied together

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