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

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. face — to point toward
  3. race — a contest
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. face — to confront
  8. bore — to tire
  9. pop — soda
  10. charge — electricity
  11. kick — in football
  12. degree — from a university
  13. charge — in control
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. pop — music
  16. bore — to drill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. race — the arms race
  19. face — part of the head
  20. race — humankind
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. charge — a price
  24. degree — temperature

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