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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. degree — temperature
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. game — a match
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. face — to confront
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a committee
  14. pitch — completely
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. game — wild animals
  22. face — part of the head
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pitch — a sports field

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