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

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. face — to point toward
  3. degree — from a university
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. face — to confront
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. chip — for betting
  9. degree — temperature
  10. game — a match
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chip — to eat
  15. face — part of the head
  16. game — wild animals
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kid — to tease

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