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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. face — to point toward
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. degree — an amount
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. fork — in a road
  13. mark — a trace
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. net — after costs
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. shower — rain
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mark — a grade
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. face — to confront
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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