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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. face — part of the head
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — to confront
  5. mark — a trace
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. suit — clothes
  8. suit — to fit
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. face — to point toward
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mark — a grade
  13. board — to get on
  14. net — after costs
  15. board — a committee
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. net — for catching
  18. suit — in cards
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chest — a box
  23. net — in sport
  24. chest — of your body

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