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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. lash — an eyelash
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. degree — temperature
  4. capital — money
  5. drill — army training
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. game — a match
  9. capital — a city
  10. game — wild animals
  11. degree — from a university
  12. drill — a practice
  13. degree — an amount
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — to point toward
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. drill — the tool
  18. mate — to breed
  19. face — part of the head
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mate — a partner
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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