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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · pitch · mate · degree · clip · wax · mine · face

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pitch — completely
  3. face — to confront
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — for paper
  11. face — part of the head
  12. spring — of water
  13. face — to point toward
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wax — to grow
  16. degree — an amount
  17. clip — a video
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spring — the season
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mate — a partner

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