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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. shower — to wash
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. shower — rain
  10. court — of law
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. chair — a leader
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. degree — temperature
  24. season — in sport

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