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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
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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: face · tube · lie · degree · lean · object · race · land

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. land — a country
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lean — to bend
  6. tube — the underground
  7. race — a contest
  8. lie — to recline
  9. degree — an amount
  10. land — to come down
  11. face — to point toward
  12. object — a thing
  13. land — ground
  14. race — the arms race
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. object — an aim
  17. tube — a container
  18. object — to protest
  19. degree — from a university
  20. face — part of the head
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. degree — temperature
  23. race — humankind
  24. face — to confront

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