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

Word bank: kid · lie · racket · rush · snap · degree · face · mate

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. snap — to click
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. face — part of the head
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. mate — a partner
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mate — a friend
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. kid — to tease
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. kid — child
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rush — a thrill

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