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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. squash — the sport
  3. mug — to rob
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. face — to confront
  10. board — to get on
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — a cup
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mine — for digging
  19. game — wild animals
  20. face — part of the head
  21. game — a match
  22. board — a committee
  23. squash — to crush
  24. face — to point toward

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