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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — a country
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bore — to tire
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bore — to drill
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bat — the animal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. face — to point toward
  14. mate — a friend
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mate — a partner
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mate — to breed
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to confront
  24. row — a line

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