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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mark — a trace
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mark — a grade
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. rest — what's left
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. rest — what's left
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. rest — a break
  23. pass — a permit
  24. roll — a list

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