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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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. kick — in football
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — happy
  6. key — in music
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. face — to confront
  10. mate — to breed
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mate — a partner
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. degree — from a university
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mate — a friend
  23. content — the amount
  24. key — the most important part

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