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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spell — a short time
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. bat — the animal
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. face — to confront
  10. kid — child
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. degree — from a university
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. degree — temperature
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — a permit

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