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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. band — a ring
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. snap — to click
  13. face — to point toward
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. degree — temperature
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. face — to confront
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. ball — a great time
  24. band — a music group

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