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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. game — a match
  3. face — part of the head
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cell — in biology
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. drill — the tool
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. face — to point toward
  12. mine — for digging
  13. degree — temperature
  14. craft — a skill
  15. game — wild animals
  16. craft — boats
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cell — a phone
  21. drill — army training
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. face — to confront
  24. rash — a series

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