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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — in sport
  3. object — a thing
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. face — to confront
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. face — part of the head
  13. season — of the year
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ground — a position
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. club — for golf
  19. face — to point toward
  20. object — an aim
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. object — to protest
  23. lie — to recline
  24. hand — help

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