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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. drill — the tool
  3. degree — temperature
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. face — to confront
  13. degree — from a university
  14. face — to point toward
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mate — to breed
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lie — to recline
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. game — wild animals
  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