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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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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: ball · current · face · kick · pit · spell · sharp · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. face — to confront
  4. ball — a dance
  5. spell — magic
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. degree — temperature
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spell — a short time
  10. ball — a great time
  11. sharp — clever
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pit — a hole
  14. spell — letters
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. kick — in football
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. face — to point toward
  22. current — happening now
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. pit — in a race

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