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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 116 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. fall — to drop
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. degree — from a university
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. mate — a partner
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fall — the season
  22. tear — to rip
  23. face — to confront
  24. mate — a friend

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