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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. band — a ring
  7. board — to get on
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — in control
  10. mate — to breed
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. board — a committee
  13. band — a music group
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mate — a partner
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bat — the animal
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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