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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rash — hasty
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. cue — for pool
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. kick — in football
  14. cue — a signal
  15. rash — a series
  16. degree — temperature
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. cue — a hint
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. face — part of the head

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