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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. charge — a price
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. field — a subject
  6. object — a thing
  7. snap — to click
  8. object — to protest
  9. field — farmland
  10. mate — to breed
  11. field — for sport
  12. charge — in control
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mate — a partner
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. charge — electricity
  19. degree — from a university
  20. object — an aim
  21. face — to confront
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lash — an eyelash

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